Courier Six: Messenger of Truth REDUX
by Farazzak
Summary: As a Courier in the Mojave Wasteland, He enjoyed the life of travel and the freedom it brought. But a shot to the head changed all that. Now he must search for the man that left him for dead. Along the way, he will find friendship, love, and hardship in his travels, but nothing can prepare him for his biggest threat yet... His past.
1. Aint that a Shot in The Head

The courier was lying on the ground in a haze. The last thing he remembered was being jumped by several men from behind the rocks on the I-15 road, several miles south of New Vegas. He woke up to the sound of a shovel scraping against dirt. His head was covered with a burlap sack, but judging by the lack of light and the cold air he could tell that it was already night time, so he had been out for at least a couple hours. He tried to move but found his hands and feet were bound too tightly.

"So far you ain't paid us nothing!" Was the first voice he heard as he came to. He stopped fidgeting and sat still.

"You'll get your caps when the job's done!" Another voice said. This one had an unusual accent that the courier couldn't place exactly. Though it was familiar.

"Is this deep enough?" Yet another voice said between long deep breaths.

"Yeah. This gofer ain't gonna need much where he's going." The second man said.

"That the thing you were talkin' about? Look's like silver to me." The third voice said after a couple seconds.

"Beautiful ain't it? It's platinum."

"Can't see shit out here."

"Either way you owe us!" The first voice said

"I told you, you'll get paid when we get there!"

"We just walked through hell man!"

"What are you, dense? I don't got it here!"

While the two men were arguing and the third likely distracted, the courier decided if he was going to escape, this was his only chance. He twisted, and jerked his hands and feet hoping something would come loose, which it didn't.

"Guess who's wakin' up over here." Said the third voice. The courier stopped fidgeting. There was no way out that he could see.

"Stand him up. And take that thing off for christ's sake." the second man said.

As the burlap bag came off the courier's head, the first thing he saw was a man dressed in black leather and fur. He had an an orange spike Mohawk with a beige bandana wrapped around the base. The one to the far right had dark skin, a long thick mustache, and was dressed similarly as the first. The one in the middle was wearing an unusually clean checkered suit, and had just put out a cigarette butt. The aroma of the pre-war tobacco still filled the air with a wisp of menthol in it, which was a rare smell. He would have craved it had he not been scared for his life.

The mohawed thug lifted him up with force. When he regained his balance he saw himself surrounded by gravestones. He was in a cemetery, and it became clear that the digging he heard earlier... was his grave.

"Time to cash out." The checkered man said. _'Rat Pack.'_ The Courier thought as he finally placed the accent. _'This guy's definitely from Vegas. not just from there, he probably works in one of the casinos.'_

"Will you get it over with-" The first thug started in an impatient tone when the checkered man held up his finger to silence him.

"Maybe Khans kill people without lookin' em in the face, but I ain't a fink... Dig?" The first thug clenched his fists with inpatience, but decided to wait it out as the checkered man reached into his pocket, and pulled out a shiny grey poker chip. It was the same The poker chip the courier was assigned to deliver.

"You've made your last delivery, kid. Sorry you got twisted up in this scene." He placed the chip back into his coat pocket and drew a very ornate nickel-plated handgun. The courier swallowed hard.

"From where you're kneeling, it must seem like an 18-karat run of bad luck." The checkered man pointed the gun to his victim's head.

"Truth is... the game was rigged from the start." The doomed man's eyes widened as his life flashed before his eyes. He let out a howl in anger and started to rush forward to him in a last ditch effort, but was shot in the head before he could do anything. He felt the impact and the immediate pain. Then, Darkness took him...

* * *

The Courier slowly opened his eyes. The first thing to see being a blurry object that spun around the room. He focused his eyes on the object. ' _A ceiling fan!'_ He thought. He was indoors, in a bed. ' _A bed?'_ Astonishment came over him as he realized he was actually and truly alive!

"You're awake... How 'bout that?" A voice came from his left. He quickly spun around (or as quickly as his body would let him) to see an older bald man sitting in a chair next to him. The courier sat up in confusion.

"Whoa easy there, easy." The old man said as he sat him back down. "You've been out cold for a couple days now. Why don't you just relax a second, get your bearings. Let's see what the damage is." He took out a small flashlight and shone it in the courier's right eye, then the left, and then to the right of his skull.

The courier suddenly remembered what had happened to him. He felt around the middle of his forehead, then to his right. Searing pain struck him.

"Careful there. My nurse is good with her stitching but you don't want to be rubbing that just yet." The courier took his hand off, and the searing pain started to subside, slowly.

"How 'bout your name. Can you tell me your name?" The old man asked. He thought for a second. Then a couple seconds.

"I... I don't think I can recall." He said in a shallow voice.

"I tried checking for anything but all I could find for any identification was the number six scrawled on the inside of your overcoat." the old man said.

"I think that was my courier number… That's right! I'm a courier for the Mojave express! It's odd. I can remember my profession but I can't recall my name." He said.

"Well then. I guess we can call you that then. Until you find out your real name of course. I'm Doc Mitchell by the way. Welcome to Goodsprings."

"Goodsprings? Well... thank you. I guess I owe you my life" 'Six' reached out his hand to shake. Doc Mitchell gratefully accepted.

"No, no. I just patched you up. It was Victor who rescued you from that grave."

"Victor?"

"Yep. Curious fella. Sort of odd. And I don't just mean cause he's a robot. I couldn't tell you much about him. But he's real friendly, don't get me wrong. You just get the sense that ain't the whole picture. Just a feeling."

"A robot huh?" Six tilted his head. "Does he not talk a whole lot about himself or anything?"

"Sort of. Keeps to himself, mostly. You want to know more about him, you'll have to ask him yourself. He has a shack on the southern edge of town. Anyway." Doc Mitchell changes the subject back to the matter at hand. "I hope you don't mind but I had to go rootin' around in your noggin to get all those bits of lead out. I have to change the bandage on that if you need to take a gander at it all. My nurse, Delilah takes pride in her needlework but you'd better let me know if we left anything out of place." He handed him a mirror. What Six saw was horrifying. A couple inches above his right eye was a bruised hole in his skin along with an incision mark that reached around to the side of his head. All sewn shut. His dark brown hair was a few inches long in a blast back style with the side shaved off a little for the incision. He had a roughneck style moustache which he just remembered was probably the only thing he could really grow on his face. In all honesty though he wasn't that bad looking even with the ground up parts. Even if he was no Dean Domino.

"Looks good. At least for the most part". He said

"Least we got most of it right. The stuff that matters. That bullet just barely missed your eyeball. And lucky for you I had one of those prewar half dollar coins that plugged that hole up nice and tight. So at least you got a little protection there again." He finishes changing his bandage with a fresh one and disposes the old one in a nearby receptacle.

"Okay. No sense keepin' you in bed anymore. Let's see if we can get you on your feet."Doc Mitchell said as he gave Six a hand up. Which he soon needed very much as the room became blurry. The dizziness subsided after a few seconds.

"Good, good. Why don't you walk down to the end of the room? Over by that 'Vigor Tester' machine there." the Doc pointed out across the room. Six started towards it, then he realized he was in his underwear.

"Uh doc... where are my clothes."

"Got them over in the living room. Had to get em washed. Them blood stains were a bit of a sight. Not to mention the smell. But nothing some Abraxo cleaner couldn't take care of." Feeling a bit odd he continued toward the machine.

"Take it slow now. It aint a race."

One wobbly foot in front of the other Six started to regain his balance as his legs re-learned their place. He made it over to the old machine right as he almost lost his balance and caught himself on it.

"Lookin good so far. Why don't you give the old Vigor Tester a try since you're there?"

 _'He can't be serious. This rusted machine is suppose to diagnose my health condition?'_ The recovering courier thought to himself. But he decided to humor him and gave the Vit-o-matic joystick a squeeze:

Strength: Lightweight

Perception: Alert Coyote

Endurance: Stain-Resistant

Charisma: Casanova

Intelligence: Smartypants

Agility: Butter fingers

Luck: Coin Flip

"Good to see them bullets didn't affect your charm none." Doc Mitchell looked the results over. Six didn't really know what to make of it. Butter fingers, Casanova? Doesn't seem like him at all. But with some brain matter missing maybe that's more accurate than he thought.

"Um... Alright then." He summed up in the end.

"Well we know your vitals are good, but that don't mean them bullets didn't leave you nutter than a Bighorner drop. What do you say you take a seat on my couch and we go through a couple of questions? See if your dogs are still barkin'." He led Six to his living room as he took some papers out of his cabinet before sitting down in a chair facing the couch.

Sitting down felt good. Even though he'd been out for two days. Doc Mitchell flipped through his papers until he found what he was looking for. The next half hour was a series of questions and Rorschach pictures that tested Six's psychological evaluation. Amazingly, he passed with flying colors, and was shown to have an aptitude for creativity and logical thinking.

Next came the standard physical examination which Six wasn't quite used to, but also felt he was overdue anyway. Doc Mitchell wrote on a piece of paper before exhaling.

"Well that's all she wrote" He looked over his notes and checked off some things on another piece of paper.

"Alright, all done. Just needed to get a record for you to have on hand. Just a formality." Doc Mitchell had Six sign his 'name' at the bottom to make it official. He handed the form back to him which he then took to his file drawer and stored it away with the other papers. Most likely records from the rest of the townsfolk.

"Alright I guess that about does it. Got your clothes right here. When you're ready I'll see you out." Doc said as he handed him his clothes and headed down the hall to the front door to wait for him.

Six looked his clothing over. His blue plaid button down shirt, vest, pants, and overcoat were cleaned and pressed, and even had all the rips and tears he accumulated out in the Mojave wasteland sewn back up. And by god even his boots had a shine to him which he didn't think was even possible. After donning his outfit he gave his faded blue overcoat a look. There was the blood stain from his gunshot wound, but was hardly noticeable just as Doc Mitchell had described. He looked at the emblem on the back. It read 'Mojave Express'. The company that had kept him employed for the past 3 years.

 _'Where would you be if you hadn't signed on with these guys?_ He thought to himself. _Would you be alive, or dead? Would you have gotten the caps to feed yourself, or that hole in your head?'_ Six thought to himself. He quickly got the rest of his clothes back on and headed down the hallway. _  
_

"Here. These are yours." Doc mitchel said as he handed him his Mojave express satchel. "Was all you had on you when you was brought in. I hope you don't mind but I gave the note a look. I thought it might help me find a next of kin. But it was just something about a platinum chip. "He handed Six delivery order as well.

"You went through my stuff?"

"Didn't have much choice, I'm afraid." Doc Mitchell Shrugged.

"No, no. it's fine, I understand. It's just... Delivery orders are confidential as a general rule."

"I understand the sentiment"

"Well thanks for patching me up doc" Six said. Doc Mitchell just shrugged again.

"Don't mention it. It's what I'm here for. Well, if you're heading back out there, you ought to have this." He handed him a strange looking gauntlet. It looked like some kind of electronic device. Like a computer on a wrist. Six's eyes widened at the amazing piece of tech.

"Whoah, I really appreciate it Doc... Uh, what is it?"

"They call it a Pip-Boy. I grew up in one of them vaults they made before the war. We all got one. Ain't much use to me now, but you might want such a thing, after what you been through. I know what it's like, having something taken from you."

"Wow, if this is, I mean that's... very generous of you! Thank you!"

"Don't mention it. And here. Might as well take this also. Always good to have a clean pair of garments with you. Never was much my style anyway." He handed him a blue leather jumpsuit with the number '21' stitched in the back. Six could only smile with gratitude.

"Oh, before I forget, one of the townsfolk dropped these off. Said they found them near where Victor found you, and guessed they might be yours." He went to the dresser by the front door and handed him a modified lever-action shotgun with the word 'Blunderbuss' carved on the stock, a pair of Binoculars which must have been dropped due to a crack in the left lens, and a worn looking 10mm pistol that was missing the ammo clip. He was obviously ransacked by his attackers as well.

"Thanks again Doc. I really don't know what I would have done without your help!"

"Probably not much of anything to be honest" He said letting out a slight laugh. Six smiled back and laughed in agreement.

"One last thing, you should talk to Sunny Smiles before you leave town. She can help you learn to fend for yourself in the desert. She'll likely be at the saloon. I reckon some of the other folks at the saloon might be able to help you out, too. Just ask around. And the metal fella, Victor, who pulled you outta your grave."

"Will do."

"Anyway, you ever get hurt out there, you come right back. I'll fix you up. But uh... try not to get killed anymore."

"Can't make any promises Doc, but I'll do my best." Doc gave him one last smirk before letting the courier out.

* * *

The instant Six stepped out onto the front steps he was blinded by the beating sunlight. He had almost forgotten just how hot it was out there. After taking a moment to adjust to the outside world once again he stepped onto the street and leaned onto a long abandoned truck as he took in the sight of Goodsprings. It was a very small farming community. Each property seemed to have a picket fence of some sort with Maize, Tobacco, or Bighorners and brahmin growing or grazing respectively in them. There were two buildings in the middle of the town just off the intersecting road: 'Goodsprings General Store', and 'The Prospectors Saloon' that seemed to be the only shops in the town.

"Howdy pardner! Might I say-!" Six spun around to the voice behind him that nearly sent his startled self into orbit.

"Oh my, I am so sorry Pardner. Didn't mean to startle you so." The voice spoke again. It belonged to a large robot with a cartoon cowboy face on a screen for a face, had two tubular arms with claws at the end and balanced on one wide wheel which it seemed to have no problem doing so. It was an odd sort of robot. Not one he's seen before. Or remembered at least. Six took a second to breathe and returned his empty 10mm to its holster he seemingly drew out in reflex.

"It's fine. I'm alright… just a bit shaky still." Six said finally

"Well then. As I was saying you're looking fit as a fiddle otherwise!"

"You must be Victor. Hey thanks for digging me out of that grave." He held out his hand in gratitude. The robot shook it back with his three claw like fingers like it was natural.

"Don't mention it! I'm always ready to lend a helping hand to a stranger in need."

"How did you happen to find me out there anyway? Kind of a one in a million chance don't you think?"

"I was out for a stroll that night when I heard the commotion up at the old bone orchard. Saw what looked like a bunch of bad eggs so I laid low."

"Do you happen to know who those men were that attacked me? I don't really have anything as far as a lead." Six scratched his head trying to remember the event earlier that week.

"Can't say that I'm familiar with the rascals. But some of the fine folks in town might be able to help you out with that."

"Well then I'd better start looking there. Sorry I can't talk for too long but I need to figure this out as soon as I can."

"Okay then. I'll see you around. Happy trails!" Victor waved to him with his claw arm. Six returned the way and smiled. ' _There's something a bit odd about that robot. I'd better be cautious._ ' He thought to himself.

Six made his way towards the Prospector's Saloon trying to avoid the 4 foot tumbleweed that barreled past him on its journey to wherever the wind was taking it. The steps creaked as his boots shifted their weight on each board. He spied an old man who sat on the porch in a rocking chair. His skin was wrinkly, dark and leathery like he'd been sitting in the sun his whole life. And a large thick snowy white beard that gave an interesting contrast to the rest of his face. Probably a traveler like himself in his younger days. The old man looks at Six with his droopy eyes.

"Howdy. What can Easy Pete do for you?"

"Hello. My name's Six… Uhh, why are you called 'Easy' Pete?" The old man just smiled.

"Was a prospector until I decided to settle here to get away from the NCR. Now I just take it easy and help out with the Brahmin and Bighorners.

"Alright then… Uh. Listen, I was shot in the head a few days back by a couple of thugs, and-"

"Yep I've heard of you. You're that drifter the old machine brought into town. Can't say I expected you to make it through the first night. Looks like I lost a few caps"

"Ha! Barely." Six chuckled. Though it was mostly at the thought that there were bets on him making it or not. "Can't seem to remember much about the whole incident though. It's all a bit fuzzy. By any chance do you know anything about the people who attacked me?" Easy Pete shifted back in his seat before answering.

"Well now. The one in the fancy suit seemed to be calling the shots, that's as much as I know. Other folks in town might know more. Word of advice, though. If you ever catch up with him, watch out. The man's got cold eyes like a snake. Can't be trusted, I'd say." That sent shivers down Six's spine. A man with a cold personality can be very unpredictable. If it wasn't the one thing Six avoided the most, it was pretty close.

"Oh I will. Thanks for the info." Six swallowed at thought of that man in the checkered suit.

"Yup." Easy Pete uttered before he nestled back in his chair and continued rocking as he stared back down the road.

The courier opened the door to the Saloon, to find it a little less than crowded. It was a relatively quiet place with a couple travelers and civilians drinking and talking about. He looked over to one of the tables by the Jukebox where a Hispanic girl in leather armor and a 'Wendy the welder' hairstyle was sitting down. At her feet was a dog that looked somewhere between a husky and Australian cattle breed. Six figured that had to be Sunny Smiles and approached her. The dog noticed him first and started to bark.

"Cheyenne, stay." She said in a calm but authoritative voice to the dog. She then looked up at him and smiled.

"Don't worry, she won't bite unless I tell her to." Cheyenne started panting again and wagged her tail at him at the drop of a hat. ' _Yep. That was Sunny Smiles alright.'_ Six thought to himself.

"Hi there. You must be Sunny."

"Howdy. Yep that's me."

"I'm Six. The uh, gunshot victim."

"Oh yeah. Doc said you'd be wandering in here any day now. Guess I won the pool." She stood up and they exchange handshakes. She was shorter than him at around 5' 4" but she had a firm grip for someone who looked as dainty as she did.

"That's an odd name, 'Six'." Sunny smirked.

"It's not really my name. I just can't seem to recall my real one."

"Ah, Gotcha."

"Doc Mitchell said you could teach me a few things about how to survive in the desert. I'm still a little new to the area so I'm not quite experienced for this." As far as he could remember. For all he new he could have been a survivalist guru before he took a bullet to the brain but it wasn't showing now, so some starting lessons were just what he needed.

"Yeah, I guess there's a thing or two I could show you. Sounds like you need all the help you can get after what they done to you. Come with me outside, behind the saloon."

Six followed her through the back door. Sunny walked up to a post that was facing east a few yards away from the building at the edge of the road and started setting empty sarsaparilla bottles up.

"You remember if you're any good with a gun?" Sunny asked Six.

"I think a little bit..." Six thought for a minute. Suddenly, a spark! A detail from his past. "Yeah, I learned a bit back when I was with a militia group briefly before my Courier days.

"Oh yeah? Who were you with?" Sunny cocked her head.

"A local group I think. Uh, wait it's coming back to me... Yes! The Oregon Territory Reserves. Everyone called us the 'Otters'. But I didn't see a whole lot of action other than some giant rodents and some Radpumas."

"Radpumas?" Sunny's eyebrow arched as she walked back from the makeshift shooting range.

"Yeah. Real sneaky bastards. Love to ambush. They're usually around 5 to 6 feet long and have a big Mohawk that run from their head down their backs."

"Alright let's see what you got then 'Otter'." Sunny nudged her rifle to him. Six took it and eyes the bottle on the far left of the range. He brought the rifle to his shoulder keeping an eye on the bottle and fires. The glass stayed still but Six didn't even notice as his head started to pound.

"Close, but not quite enough. Look down the sight." He heard Sunny say. He focused his eyes as the pounding went away and took her advice. He fired, and hit the target.

"That's the right idea." Said Sunny. Six smiled but the headache returned. This time it lasted longer.

"You alright?" Sunny asks when she noticed him gripping his skull.

"It's nothing. I'm fine." He fired again with the headache, still managing to hit the bottle on its side.

"Try crouching down and staying still." Sunny continued to instruct him. Six did so and let the pain fade just enough for him to focus. He hit the bottle right in the center of the logo.

"Nice shot." Sunny Smiles smiled at him.

"Thanks. But… Can we cut this lesson for today? I've got to see Doc about this headache."

"No problem. Do what you gotta do." Six handed her back the rifle as she started back towards the saloon, then spun around to face him again.

"Oh Hey, do me a favor. Trudy - she's the bartender up at the Prospector, kind of the town mom. She likes to meet newcomers. She'd be cross with me if I didn't ask you to poke your head in and say hi."

"Will do. Thanks for the lesson Sunny! Catch you later."

"Bye."

Six tried hard not to touch his stitches but the headache wasn't going away. He could barely tell if he was on the road or not but he had to have reached Doc Mitchell's house by now. He opened the door and stepped in, not noticing a young woman that stood there in the living room. She was a slender build like Sunny and had her shoulder length brown hair hair tied up in low hanging pigtails.

"Hey! What are you doing here?" The girl demanded. The shout sent Six's head spinning harder.

"I'm a recovering gunshot victim with a raging headache. Who are you?" He answered as he tended to his head once again.

"I'm Delilah, and this is my place! I don't take too kindly to strangers barging in on me." A shock of embarrassment ran down Six's spine.

"Oh! I... I'm sorry. I thought this was Doc Mitchell's place."

"Well, this isn't it.- Hey.. Wait a minute! You're that guy that got shot in the head Victor brought in a few days ago!" Her temper faded away almost instantly.

"Yeah. That's me." He answered, still dying from the combination of the headache and embarrassment. "I'm sorry for bothering you. I just needed something from the doc for this headache." The courier turned to leave but Delilah put a hand on his arm.

"You don't have to leave. I've got something that can cure that. Might as well give you a follow up since I happened to help the Doc save you."

"Oh so it was you who stitched me up then?" Six asked. Delilah nodded gleefully. "I guess I have another hero." A blush started to materialize on her face.

"Ha! Flatterer. Come and sit here. I'll get you something for that headache." She sat him down on the couch in her living room as she went to the kitchen refrigerator. "Hey what's your name anyway?"

"Six. Or at least until I can remember my real name."

"Uh oh. Those bullets give you a little amnesia there huh?"

"Just in some spots" Six rubbed the back of his head. A moment later she returned with a surgical tray with a Med-X needle on it. Six's eyes widened. For some reason the needle made hims skin crawl.

"Um, is that really necessary? The needle I mean." He responded in a nervous voice.

"It works wonders. But if you don't feel comfortable with me sticking you then I guess I have something else I can whip up. Be right back." She darted back to the kitchen in a flash.

"Sorry about that. It's just I don't really like using needles if I can avoid it."

"I understand. I used to hate them when I was younger." She called out from the kitchen.

A few minutes later she returned with a mug of tea.

"Here. Drink this. That should help that headache soon enough." Six drank the tea which was very bitter but he didn't want to offend her, especially after he refused the Med-X. The pain started to melt away as quickly as it came.

"Hey this works really great! What is this?" Six asked even though the bad taste soon became overwhelming.

"It's an old tribal pain remedy called Voodoo. It's very potent and very addictive so I use only a quarter dose which is just enough for what you have. I also mixed in a little coyote tobacco to help clear the senses."

"Oh so you're a Tribal, _and_ a Doctor?"

"My Uncle Sulik taught me a lot about the ways of his people, and I admire them in a lot of ways. I don't consider myself a 'tribal' though. As far as being a doctor, I just help Doc Mitchell out right now. But I will be a doctor one day."

"That's a great profession. The wasteland could always use someone with some good medical expertise."

"What about you? You're a Courier right? I'd think the life you lead would be very fascinating. I love to meet new and interesting people." Delilah was sitting on the couch facing him now, with her emerald eyes fixed on his. Six started to feel claustrophobic with the sudden attention, but pushed through to answer her question anyway.

"It's a bit of a lonely job for the most part. You do see some interesting places though. And yes there are some very interesting people you meet along the way." The man in the checkered suit came to mind. "Speaking of which, I was going to check with Trudy to see if she knows about the men who attacked me. Thanks for all your help Delilah. I really appreciate it."

"No problem! Oh hey, do you mind if I tag along? I gotta get some whisky over at the saloon anyway."

"Sure. Didn't expect you to be a whisky kind of girl but I don't mind."

"No, not for me. It's for disinfecting medical supplies, silly!" Delilah laughed as Six opened the front door for her. As she passed, he couldn't help but notice her backside as she walked towards the Saloon. _'Don't be a pig Six. Remember, she helped save your life_ _.Be a gentleman._ _'_ He thought to himself and hurried to catch up with her.

"So your parent's were tribals? What was that like?"

"No. My dad was raised near tribals in California and had a close relationship with them. You see, when my dad met-… oh no." Delilah stopped in her tracks.

"What?" Six asked. She pointed towards the saloon at a couple people heading inside. They both were dressed in worn blue outfits and grey slacks. One was dark skinned and was wearing an armored vest that read NCRCF on the back, the other was lighter skinned and had a punk style haircut. Both looked very angry.

"Powder Gangers. This can't be good." Delilah whispered. They hurried over to the Saloon, but once inside they stayed quiet to not draw too much attention to themselves.

"I am telling you right now I haven't seen Ringo anywhere. How many times are you powder gangers going to keep bothering us about this?" They heard the older woman, who Six assumed to be Trudy who talked to the two men in a very stern voice.

"We know he's here, just hand him over and we'll leave your little shit-hole of a town alone." Said the man in the vest. He was the one calling the shots.

"What do you want with him anyway huh? Don't you powder gangers get enough 'fun' with each other?" Six's eyes widened as he listened in. _'Trudy's got some balls to dish out that kind of talk.'_ He thought to himself. The leader gave a menacing smile to Trudy's remark.

"Not as much fun as we'll have with you if he's not here when we come back." He said as he started to laugh, but was cut short by a hard slap in the face by Trudy. After the initial shock, The man pointed a finger to her threateningly.

"I'm done being nice, if you don't hand Ringo over soon, I'm going to get my friends and were burning this town to the ground, Got it?" The other ganger twisted his neck sideways and made a bone cracking noise. Trudy didn't so much as give the second man a reaction She folded her arms and blinked once.

"We'll keep that in mind. Now, if you're not going to buy something, get out"

The leader glared harshly at her for a second, then turned to leave with his partner in tow. The punk follower grabbed a shot of whisky from a nearby redhead girl, gulped it down, and then shattered the glass on the ground.

"Hey! What the fuck is with you?!" The girl said. The Punk just burped in her face and continued walking. Once the door closed behind them, Trudy immediately darted back around the counter and poured the girl a new glass.

"Thanks Trudy… Assholes!" The girl groaned.

"Not a problem Vanessa. This whole thing will blow over soon enough. Just like everything else before." She said as she grabbed a broom and dust pan and was already sweeping the glass up when Six and Delilah walked to the counter once they knew the coast was clear.

"Hi Trudy." Delilah waved in a mildly cheerful manner.

"Well hello Delilah. Back for more supplies? And who is this gentleman you brought with you?" Trudy smiled at Six. Before he could introduce himself, Delilah did so for him.

"This is Six. The guy Victor saved a couple days ago."

"Six? That's an interesting name." Trudy said with a curious smile.

"Can't remember my real name. yet." Six smiled back.

"I see. Well either way, I've been hearing about you. You've been causing quite a stir lately. Glad I finally got to meet you. Welcome to the Prospector's Saloon." She said as she shook Six's hand.

"Good to meet you as well, It's a very nice place you've got here."

"I appreciate it. Not a whole ton of people nowadays that can really recognize a well kept home."

"Well it sure shows to me. So uh, I overheard your argument with those guys earlier. Who were they?"

"They're convicts, just without the chains. The one talking said his name was Cobb. He and his group call themselves the 'Powder Gangers'. And now it looks like our little town got itself dragged into the middle of something we don't want anything to do with. You see… About a week ago, this trader, Ringo, comes into town. Survivor of an attack, he says. Bad men after him, needs a place to hide. We figured he was just in shock, so we gave him a place to lie low. We didn't actually expect anyone to come after him."

"Boy, that sounds pretty serious. What are you going to do about these guys? Six asked.

" _Sigh*_ Some of the others, like Sunny, will probably stand up for Ringo if he asks for help, which he hasn't. Personally, I hope he sneaks out of town one night and takes the Powder Gangers with him."

"Who are these Powder Gangers anyway? Raiders? Mercenaries?"

They're chain gangs, really. The NCR brought them in from California to work on the rail lines. Problem is, it turns out that giving convicts a bunch of dynamite and blasting powder isn't the best idea."

"I can see where this is heading."

"Yep. Was a big escape not too long ago. Some of them stuck together so they could make trouble. That's what we're dealing with now."

"Sounds like a big mess you've got caught up in. Where's Ringo now? Can I talk to him."

"He's holed up at the abandoned gas station up the hill. I wish you the best of luck if you're going."

"Thanks. I wonder if there's a way to sort this out." Six got up to leave. Meanwhile Delilah was chatting up the redhead, Vanessa, and spotted him starting back out the door.

"Where are you heading to?" She asked.

"I'll be back. Just gotta take care of some things."

"Good luck to you. I'll probably be here for a bit if you need anything." She said before turning back to their conversation "So, what was it you wanted to ask me?-"

* * *

Six walked briskly along the road to the abandoned gas station. Meanwhile his mind was racing. _'I really got to get on the road. But I can't just leave these people here like this. Not after what they've done for me. But what the hell are you getting yourself into Six? There's no point in getting yourself killed for people you don't know. And what the hell is your name? Why can't you remember that if you can remember what you do for a living?!'_

He arrived at the gas station and dusted himself off a bit before opening the door. It creaked as he started to step through to the dark unlit building. Three steps in he heard a mechanical click to his right. A man popped up behind the counter. Six realized he forgot his guns at Delilah's house (which wouldn't have done him too much good anyway with no ammo) so all he could do was put his hands in the air.

"That's close enough. Who are you and what do you want with me?" The man in the dark asked.

"I'm not an enemy if that's what you're asking." Six said in the calmest manner he could muster. Inside he was still shaking. "You must be Ringo. I'm a friend of Trudy. She said I could find you here." Ringo's face relaxed and he lowered his pistol.

"Yeah, that's me. Sorry about the gun. You just caught me off guard, that's all."

"It's fine. I'm here because there's a man named Joe Cobb that was looking for you. He seemed pretty angry."

"Yeah. He doesn't look very tough, though. I hear he's afraid I'll shoot him down from one of the windows when I see him, and he's right. But I'll have a much bigger problem once his friends show up. There's no way I could handle all of them in a gunfight. That's why I'm laying low."

"Why are the Powder Gangers out to get you?" Six leaned on the gas station counter. Ringo mirrored him on the opposite end.

"It all started on the I-15 when my caravan was on the return trip from California. We were heading back up to the company branch in New Vegas and we got jumped." Ringo's eyes seemed to drift off into the distance as he remembered the incident. "Not even a 'drop your weapons and hands up' before the bullets started flying. Rodney and Dina were my two guards on the trip. Good people too. We put up a good fight, but there was way too many of them. Rodney was shot first in the head, then Dina in the leg. She told me to run but I took a few of the bandits down before I ran, so I figure their friends are out for revenge. Doesn't seem fair though. Those guards were my friends too…" Ringo wiped his eye a bit before looking back to Six.

"What are you going to do about the Powder Gangers?" Six asked after a couple seconds. Ringo exhaled heavily.

"I'm going to lay low for as long as I can, assuming the town doesn't throw me to the wolves. I've got no chance against the gang on my own."

"I can help you." Six say's very seriously in a heartbeat. Ringo gave a slight smirk before he shook his head.

"We'd just end up sharing the same grave with just the two of us. But… Now, if some of the other people in town were also on board..."

"I'll ask around and see who I can round up. We'll get you through this Ringo. That's a promise."

"Thank you. I really appreciate the help. What was your name again?"

"Just call me Six"

"Six… I like it!" Ringo shook his hand enthusiastically with his hopes raised again. "Try and start with Sunny Smiles. She's been friendlier than most around here. If she's on board, I bet others may follow."

"I'll do that. I'll be back".

"Good luck!"

* * *

Six started his way back to the saloon at a marching pace. He could feel the adrenaline start to pump through him. That apparent time he spent with the Otters seemed to all be coming back to him. And he liked it. He was helping to defend a civilian, nay, a town against a band of thugs that has threaten the lives of everyone in Goodsprings. Maybe that's what he was meant to do. He hadn't felt this kind of excitement or purpose in years. Approaching the Saloon he spotted Delilah leaning up against the building outside the door as she waited for him to return

"So what are we doing?" She asked when Six approached.

"Were going to form a militia." He said with pride. He did not slow his pace nor break step as he headed through the door to the saloon.

"What?" Asked Delilah as she hurried to follow him in. Once again inside the Prospector's Saloon he spotted Sunny in the same corner he first meet her in. He'd have to convince her if he will have ANY chance of defending the town. He chose his words carefully as he walked up to her. **  
**

"Howdy Six. What's the rush." Greeted Sunny, smiling as usual. Six got right down to business.

"I'm going to help Ringo take on the Powder Gangers. We could really use your help if you're willing."

"Say no more. I'm in" She said without batting an eye.

"Just like that?" The astonished Courier said.

"Just like that. I have a feeling that I'm going to end up fighting those guys one way or another, so I might as well get it over with. Joe Cobb talks about leaving us alone if we hand over Ringo, but I know his type. He and his friends will come after the town eventually." She paused to take a shot of scotch she had on the table before continuing. "However, between you, me, and Ringo, we aren't exactly a force to be reckoned with. A lot of people around here look up to Trudy. If you could convince her to join us, some of the folks in town might decide to help out as well. Also what might help us out is that Easy Pete's got a stock of dynamite somewhere, and Chet just got a shipment of leather armor we could borrow. Talk to them as well. Oh and there's a good chance we'll all end up with extra holes in us, so if Doc Mitchell could cough up some extra stimpaks, that'd be great." She paused to think if there was anything she forgot. "I think that about sums up what this town has to offer. Everybody's got a gun and knows how to use it."

"Any ideas on how to convince Trudy to join us?" Six said after thinking for a minute.

"A silver tongue would help. Convincing Trudy that we had a good plan to win the fight would also help."

"I'll think of something. Now how about Chet? Would he be willing to give us his supplies?" Sunny just smirked.

"I don't think 'give' is in Chet's vocabulary. Even with the town at stake, he'd still make you barter with him."

"Chet owes me a favor. I'll get you that armor." Delilah added in.

"That's great! If it's not too much to ask, see if you can get some ammo for us too. That would help a lot as well."

"Got it. What's your type?"

"I think a lot of the folks here use .357s. I need some 12 gauge and 10mm. I need an ammo clip that'll fit an N99." He pulled out the few caps he had on him. "Got 26 caps on me if it helps any." He tossed Delilah his cap bag. She looked to Sunny next.

"I'm alright on my ammo. I'll see if Easy Pete can give up some Dynamite."

"Sounds good. Alright let's meet back here in…" Six checked the time on his pipboy. "An hour and a half. So at noon."

"Okay."

"Great!" The three parted ways to do their part.

* * *

"So, I hear you're planning on taking on Joe Cobb's gang." Trudy said as she wiped down several glasses as Six walked to the bar.

"I'm sorry to bring this all up but I can't just stand around with those kinds of people threatening this town like that."

"It's a big risk, but I suppose you have to do what you think is right." She returned to polishing her glasses.

"We're a little outnumbered against the powder gangers though. Think you could help?" Trudy cocked her head before answering.

"I don't think so. Too much of a risk for the rest of us. I'll be rooting for you, though."

"C'mon Trudy!" Six heard a voice from behind him. It was Vanessa. "Bullets, explosions, lots of fun." Trudy folded her arms like she did with Cobb.

"Miss Vanessa, I think you've had enough."

"Fine." Vanessa sighed as she plopped her head back down on the table.

"I understand where you're coming from." Six continued. "But Joe Cobb isn't going to stop. Even if he catches Ringo he's going to come after everyone here because you helped him. But look. Near the saloon and store are good spots to stage an ambush. And we can still have good cover with a few barriers that are already scattered around - if I had the help."

"That does sound like a good plan. And for some reason I can't help but like you. _Sigh_ *. All right, you seem to know what you're doing, so you can count me in. Let me have a word with a few other folks and I'll see if I can't round up some more members for this 'militia' you're creating."

"Thank you Trudy. I knew I could count on you!" Six darted back out to find Doc.

* * *

"Howdy Sunny. You seem in a hurry." Easy Pete said as Sunny almost passed him by. He was in his same rocking chair he'd been in all morning, with a pipe in his mouth letting the day pass by.

"Howdy Easy Pete." She said with her usual sunny disposition. "You still got any of that that dynamite buried somewhere?" Easy Pete let out a raspy cough, in surprise, which materialized in a puff of smoke.

"Now what would you need my Dynamite for anyway?"

"That new guy, Six has a plan to defend the town from the Powder Gangers. We need some of your Dynamite to fight back." Easy Pete just frowned.

"Too dangerous. Gonna kill all yourselves if I let you touch it. Better to leave it buried, safer that way."

"How hard can it be? Just light them, throw, and duck."

"Too dangerous, sorry. Blow yourself up, blow your neighbor up, blow the whole town up!" Easy Pete started empathizing his voice with every sentence. It was Sunny's turn to frown this time.

"If we don't do something now this whole town's gonna get blown to bits anyway! What's it going to take, Pete?"Cheyenne just whimpered next to her. Easy Pete seemed to just get more pointed a wrinkled finger at her and spoke very sternly.

"If you want to even 'touch' my dynamite, then you're going to have to learn how to use it the 'proper' way."

"Okay, Shoot! What's the first step?"

"Alright. Come with me then." Easy Pete slowly got up from his rocking chair and started towards his house at his slow pace. Sunny followed close behind along with Cheyenne in tow.

"First thing's first. Dynamite, is a very volatile explosive that consists of Nitroglycerin, wrapped in a powdered siliceous sedimentary rock-" Sunny's heart dropped as she realized she's in for quite a long 90 minutes.

* * *

Over at the General Store, the owner Chet had just finished tiding up his shop when he heard the bell on the front door jingle as it opened.

"Hello, I'll be right with you." He called out automatically. He turned the corner of the isle to see Delilah standing at the front counter.

"Hey there Chet!" She said in her usual cheery voice.

"Well hey there Delilah! I don't have any gauze wraps in yet. I should have them in next week though." He hurried to the front counter.

"Oh, that's okay. I'm actually here for some leather armor and some ammo." Chet was taken aback slightly.

"Really? Gonna start hunting Geckos with Sunny or something?" Delilah shook her head.

"No, I need supplies for us to fight the Powder Gangers. The town's gonna get a militia together and face them."

"Ah I see... Wait, What?! Now just hold on. I never voted to take on the Powder Gangers! That's a… a thousand cap investment you're talking about."

"A thousand caps?! That's insane! You know we don't have that kind of money on us." Delilah could feel herself starting to turn red.

"My supplies aren't cheap, you know. I gotta make a living somehow."

"Hey, my supplies aren't cheap either. What about that time you got mauled by those Geckos and Doc couldn't help 'cause he was down with the flu? Did I charge you for me to use my own supplies to fix you up? No. I even gave you some Med-X the next couple of days after you were all patched up with over fifty stitches! I think you owe me." Chet had almost forgotten that. If Delilah wasn't there he'd be dead a long time ago.

"Okay. You made your point. I can provide people with some leather armor and extra ammo. I sure hope it's worth it. The people can pick up their extra ammo and leather armor when they're ready. But after that, were even!"

"Thank you Chet." You're giving us a real fighting chance." She reached over and gave Chet a quick hug. The surprised shopkeeper just stood there stiff as a board.

"Oh and, uh, I'll be guarding the store while all this is going on. I have to put my business first, you understand." He said after a second. Delilah just rolled her eyes since she knew there wasn't much else she could squeeze out of him.

" _Sigh_ * Got it. I'll let everyone know. Thanks again Chet." She said as she raced back out the door.

"Take it easy now."

* * *

The walk up and down the hill was giving Six some good exercise. Even though he was still used to the long roads as a Courier. _I wonder how many boot soles I left on the road since Oregon. Too many to count anyway, I guess._ He thought to himself. He knocked on the door and made sure this was the right house this time.

"Door's open, c'mon in." He heared Doc Mitchell's voice. Six entered the house to find Doc Mitchell in the living room reading a D.C. Journal of Internal Medicine text book.

"Welcome back. I had hoped you wouldn't need to come see me again so soon." He took off a pair of reading glasses and set the book down, folding one of the pages to save his spot. "What can I do for you?" Six got right to the point.

"The town is going to be attacked by Powder Gangers real quick here. Anything you can do to help us out a little? We're getting set up for an ambush but we could use any help you can give us." Doc Mitchel just sighed.

"Seems like wherever I go it's always the same. Folks just never leave each other alone." He paused for a couple seconds as he thought.

"I'm not much good in a fight, with my bum leg. And my supplies are scarce. But I'll give you what I can spare." Doc Mitchell started up towards his medical room and opened up one of his first aid kits on the back table. He took out three stimpaks and handed them over to Six. "That's about all I can donate for supplies to your cause. It's a noble one. But like I said, my supplies are scarce."Six pocketed the stimpaks and smiled

"Thank you Doc. This will help us out quite a bit."

"Oh, I just remembered. Hold on a bit." Doc Mitchell said. He walked back to his living room to the fire place. On the mantle was an old bolt action rifle he took down and handed to Six.

"Here. I noticed you only had an empty shotgun and no ammo clip in your pistol. I may as well loan you this." He also handed him two full magazines of 308 ammunition he took from a nearby drawer. Six was taken back.

"Thanks Doc! I don't know what to say. I'll be sure to bring it back to you in one piece." Doc just smileed back at him.

"I know you'll take good care of it. You're a good man. I can see it in your eyes."

"I'll also pay you back for those stimpaks once this is over. That's a promise." Say's Six. Doc just smirked.

"You don't have to. But thanks."

"I know I don't, But I will." Six turned and left Doc Mitchell's house once again facing the world. He decided to go ahead and round up Ringo, making a sharp left to the gas station. He looked the rifle over that Doc Mitchell let him borrow. It looked like one of those old world war rifles with the way it was built. Looking on the side at the stamp marks it read:

GUN RUNNERS ARMORY, MOJAVE ARSENAL, Model M1903 SPRINGFIELD

 _'It's amazing what kind of blueprints the Gun Runners can find these days_.' He thought. it's a good copy and obviously very high quality. Six decided to knock on the gas station door first before entering this time. Ringo eagerly greeted him hoping to hear some good news.

"So, What's going on? Did Sunny agree to help us?" He asked without hesitation.

"Sunny's with us. And we even got at least half the town on our side." Six smiled.

"That's outstanding! I didn't think we'd get that lucky! Well I guess that means were ready to go." Ringo loaded his 9mm pistol and slung his satchel over his shoulder all packed.

"Good to go. Let's go meet the rest of the town at the saloon."

"Right behind you." Ringo took a deep breath before he stepped out the door.

* * *

Ringo and Six made tehir way to the town front. It was quite a sight to behold. One of the townsfolk was leading a Brahmin hauling a wrecked truck to the front of the Saloon while others were putting on leather armor in front of the General store with Chet handing out ammunition boxes to the townsfolk. Trudy was talking to Easy Pete and a few other of the townsfolk as they walked over the perimeter

"Wow. You really do have the whole town here." An astonished Ringo said. "I'm going to go over and check in with Trudy if you don't mind." Ringo called out as he already started running over to the group. Meanwhile, Six spotted Sunny and Delilah taking turns throwing spears at a nearby tree. Delilah saw Six and waved him over.

"Look at all this Six. I don't think I've ever seen this town cooperate this well before! You really have a knack for this leadership stuff. Delilah said with open arms.

"Well I don't know about leadership. But when there's a common enemy, it's easy to get everyone to work together… Mostly." Six said humbly. She reached into her pocket and pulled out Six's cap bag that looked a bit heavier.

"Sorry, but this is all I could get for you. Chet didn't have any 12 gauge rounds, or any ammo clips that would fit your pistol. But I did get you 10 bullets. I saved 6 caps for you. Just in case."

"Thanks for trying. I really do appreciate the help though." Delilah gave a glance at Six's new rifle.

"Hey, isn't that Doc's rifle? Does that thing even work?"

"Yeah. He loaned it to me for the fight. I haven't tested it yet but it's very clean. Speaking of which, Doc Mitchell was able to spare these." He handed her the three stimpaks.

"This'll be fine. As long as we don't have anything too major I can ration these out." Delilah stuffed the stimpaks in her medical satchel.

"How'd we do on the dynamite? Any luck?" Right as he asked, Sunny walked over and held up a good sized satchel of dynamite. She had a very agitated yet bored look on her face. Cheyenne at her feet, held the same expression.

"Got them right here. I had to learn how to handle these stupid sticks the 'right way' before Easy Pete would let me use them. I know all regulation, material, and safety precautions having to do with dynamite now… Everything!"

"I… I guess he wouldn't give you a crash course then?" Six seemed a little more concerned at this point.

"That WAS the crash course! Seriously, ask me something about dynamite!"

"Okay, uh… Are any of us allowed to use the dynamite other than yourself?" Sunny went into an almost blank stare before continuing.

"The work of handling and placing explosives in preparation for a blast shall be performed only by a certified blaster or by persons under the supervision of a certified blaster." She said almost hypnotically. "So as long as I'm around to make sure you're doing it right we should be okay."

"Well that's something. Thanks for your efforts, and... sacrificing of your brain cells. I'll buy you a drink later. So um, what are we doing with the spears?" He noticed that the spears had rocks tied to them.

"Delilah had the great idea of attaching the Dynamite to the spears so we can get some good distance on them! The rocks are for balance." Sunny said excitedly.

"Uncle Sulik taught me and Sunny how to throw spears! We got pretty good at it!" Delilah said proudly.

"That's really cool, I'm impressed! That should help us out quite a bit!" Six said.

"Oh, this one time when we were kids, Sunny and I were practicing and I nailed a Bighorner right in the butt! I thought we were goners when it started charging us!" Delilah laughed.

"I remember that! We had to hide in that old truck until it got bored and left! I've never seen your dad so angry before!" Sunny added in laughing as well. Six also had a good laugh. He was stopped though, when he spotted someone on the road to the south sprinting over to the three of them. It was Vanessa.

"Powder Gangers!" She called out slowing to a halt in front of Sunny. Trudy saw her as well and was already rushing over.

"How many" Sunny asked.

"About 12. Joe Cobb included." Vanessa reported.

"How far away are they?" Asked Trudy.

"I'd say about… 10 minutes. They were going pretty fast."

"Thank you Vanessa." Trudy patted her on the shoulder and turned to call out to the town.

"Okay everybody, we've got powder gangers! Get in position!... Six, this is your gig. You're in charge now. Good luck." Trudy loaded her hunting shotgun and got into position. Six swallowed hard, feeling a bit of anxiety. He shook the feeling away, letting his apparent militia training take hold.

"Alright, I want three in position behind the truck, another two by the General Store, Ringo and two others in the Saloon windows. Sunny, Delilah behind the crates in the middle. Vanessa, take cover behind the truck on the far side of the Saloon with Easy Pete! Nobody fire until Sunny hits them first!"

Everyone took cover in their ordered positions. Six joined Delilah and Sunny.

"Got your sticks ready?" Asked Six as he took position and hunkered down next to the girls.

"Got my sticks tied to her sticks and ready." Sunny confirmed.

The 10 minutes pass quickly as Six could hear the Powder Gang marching in at their own individual paces. Guns, knives, baseball bats, and dynamite in hand. A minute later he saw them in his iron sights. He switches the safety off his rifle, and waited for them to close in…

* * *

 **Authors Notes:**

 **Radpumas: Descendants of the Mountain Lions native to the Northwest around what used to be Oregon and Idaho. Radiation had stunted their growth but they continue to thrive in the still heavily forested regions. They are ambush predators that tend to shy away from humans but sometimes hunger will drive them closer to populated settlements.**

 **(Totally made up creature. not cannon from the fallout universe but I think this could be something you would find in a fallout type setting.)**

 **Federated Oregon Territory/ Oregon Territory Reserves (Otters): What used to be known as Oregon didn't get bombed quite as much compared to other regions in the U.S. but still suffered the effects of radiation. Many communities had started to reconnect together and formed the Federated Oregon Territory and had begun to prosper. bringing the rise of the Oregon Territory Reserves as a local Militia force to defend the federation from any and all hostilities that may arise from outside the territory At some the FOT had made contact with the newly formed NCR. Eventually a pact was signed in which the NCR had annexed the FOT. Most of the Otters had been assimilated into the NCR Army but had mostly stayed within their same local territories.**

 **(Again, non cannon. but hey. it's fanfiction right?)**

 **Courier Six: Messenger of Truth, The REBOOT is finally here. Looking back at my writing I can see how far I've come and decided that I really needed to overhaul this story. So, there are some things that will be cut and things that will be modified and added for ease of story flow and freshness. So hope you all enjoy it! Like, subscribe, follow, comment, do your thing! See you next time!**

 **Credits:**

 **Fallout New Vegas/Bethesda: Obviously. Couldn't do this little project without them. And of course the disclaimer. I don't own any aspects of Fallout or any subsidiaries. All credit goes to Bethesda Softworks.**

 **Nexus Mods: And all the mod community for the inspiration!**

 **Mods/Others:**

 **The outfit I chose for Courier Six is from a mod called the Mojave Express Basic Courier's Uniform by Plutonium Blonde. I really loved this outfit and I think it is perfectly suited for my character. Please check out and Endorse their mod.**

 **newvegas/mods/60763/?**

 **Vanessa is a Companion mod by GePalladium used with their permission. A very great and immersive mod that I think you really should check out, and of course, Endorse!**

 **newvegas/mods/56270/?**

 **The gun from Doc Mitchell's house loaned to Six is the M1903A3 Springfield by Trentosaurus. An awesome and absolutely beautiful rifle, I had to use it! Please check out and Endorse away!**

 **newvegas/mods/61223/?**

 **Oh and Sunny's answer to the handling of explosives (For comedy reasons only) is straight out of these instructions:**

 **Possession, Handling, Storage and Transportation of Explosives: Part 39 of Title 12 of the Official Compilation of Codes, Rules and Regulations of the State of New York. Section 39.7 Blasting operations**

 **scrumpusrex: For their character Delilah. I have attempted to contact them for permission on using this character but they cannot receive messages. So I do hope it is not an issue. Please check out their awesome mod and endorse.**

 **newvegas/mods/50641/?**


	2. High Noon at Goodsprings

The entire town laid silent as the hour of noon approached. Even the Brahmin and Bighorner stood silent in their pens as the air of upcoming battle loomed overhead.

 _Steady… Steady_. Six thought to himself as the Powder Gangers started to close in on the town front.

Sunny and Delilah waited with their spear wrapped in dynamite at the ready. Their eyes were on Six, waiting for the signal. As the first powder ganger stepped into the crossroad, Six jerked his hand down. Sunny lifted a spear to her shoulder while Delilah lit the fuse. Sunny let loose.

The spear pierced one of the gang members right in the chest and he fell on his back. The rest of the gang hunched over looking for where the spear came from, not noticing the Dynamite attached to it. When they finally did, all hell broke loose as two gangers near their dead comrade were engulfed in the explosion. The rest of the town erupted in a blaze of gunfire as both sides opened up on each other.

Six took a shot at one that dived behind a boulder but missed. He fired again and chipped the rock making the ganger flinch. Six took several moments to wait for him to peek out again. The Ganger did so and quickly fired three shots from his pistol before Six hit him in the neck. The ganger collapsed on the ground clutching his neck, blood spurted from his mouth as he tried to scream unsuccessfully. Six could barely watch as he frantically worked the bolt of his gun. He finished him off with a bullet to the head to end his misery. Meanwhile, Delilah heard a cry for help from the right side of the town as one of the defenders went down. She grabbed her bag and sprinted over to check on him. A bullet struck the civilian in the right arm. Luckily it went clean through and Delilah was able to stop the bleeding with a quick tourniquet and Med-X. If someone else were to get hit somewhere vital she was going to need her few stimpaks.

On the left, Vanessa and Easy Pete did their best to hold their flank. They kept them at bay until three Gangers started to fire wildly at once while advancing on their position keeping them pinned down.

"Sunny! We need a blast over here now!" Easy Pete called out. Sunny spotted the advancing Gangers and readies another spear. She threw it hard and it landed right at the Powder gangers feet, vaporizing them before they had time to react.

On the other side of the firefight Joe Cobb became very concerned with how difficult the raid on the town was becoming. _'There's no way the town could have organized like this so quickly!'_ He thought to himself. He whistled over to the right side of the street to his partner. The same one that accompanied him earlier in the saloon. Using hand signals, he asked how much of his gang was left. The Punk answered _'Seven'_. A second later an explosion erupted on the right side of the saloon. The punk corrected with 'Four'. Cobb spotted where the spears were coming from. He turned and whistled to the other gangers to his left to give them instructions.

Back at the town front the lines were holding and it seemed like the fight might be turning in their favor. Suddenly one of the Gangers started to sprint towards the middle barrier right where Six and Sunny were positioned, holding two sticks of dynamite. Everyone concentrated their fire on him, but before getting gunned down the Ganger managed to throw both sticks over the wood barricade with one of the sticks falling right on the spear stockpile. Barely enough time to react Six grabbed Sunny and shoved her towards the Saloon door. They made it inside but the entire storefront turned to splinters and broken glass. Luckily, most of the defenders inside managed to pick up right where they left off with not much more than some scrapes and bruises. Sunny on the other hand, groaned in pain on the ground.

"Sunny! What's wrong?" Six called out.

"My arm. I think it's dislocated." She sat up trying not to move her left arm. She looked up at six and shouted, "Go! Don't let those bastards get through!" Six did as her was told and rushed back out the door. Cheyenne, who had been hiding in the back of the bar, ran out to tend to Sunny, licking her face to try and comfort her.

Six heard Delilah call out his name as what seemed to be the last of the powder gangers roared madly and started to charge the right flank.. He rushed over, Vanessa and Easy Pete right behind him.

"Sunny's hurt! See if you can help her." Six said to Delilah. She immediately ran back inside the saloon as Six, Vanessa, and Easy Pete took her spot.

"I got this." He whispered to himself as they rushed to the brawl. He flipped his rifle around and swung hard at one of the gangers, that had tackled one of the defenders, in the head. Meanwhile, Vanessa had grabbed another ganger, and in a headlock snapped his neck. Finally, Easy Pete managed to get a shot off and brought down yet another. The last two gangers, knowing they were hopelessly defeated, backed off and ran for their lives. -One of the retreating gangers Vanessa recognized as the one who stole her drink. She raised her assault rifle, lined up the shot, and pulled the trigger. The bullet hit its mark square in his left buttocks. He screamed but kept limping away as fast as he could. She smiled and laughed at the sight as the rest of the militia cheered in victory. Delilah, Sunny, Trudy, Ringo, and the rest of the defenders inside the Saloon emerged as well to take sight of the moment.

Six was the only one not celebrating. Something didn't seem right. He began to look over the bodies on the small battlefield. ' _Where is Joe Cobb?_ ' he thought to himself. He started to scan the area down the road for any sign of him. To his right in the corner of his eye he thought he could see movement by the cornfield. He knew it was a very bad idea moving in to investigate, but he was too determined to find him. His rifle at the ready, he scanned the area by the cornfield, then by the housing. Nothing. Suddenly he felt a sharp kick from his left side. He was pushed on the ground, his rifle just out of reach as Joe Cobb himself stood over him with a cowboy style revolver aimed right at his head.

"Should have just stayed out of the way, Paperboy." Cobb chuckled. He pulled back the hammer on his revolver, and pulled the trigger. *Click* His face dropped as he realizes he was out of bullets. Six took the opportunity to kick the revolver out of Cobb's hand and with his other foot kicked him back into the side of a nearby house. Six grabbed his rifle and aimed it right at Cobb's' neck at point blank range.

"Yeah? Well.. Looks like it's time to pay your dues!" Returned Six. Cobb just gave him a confused frown. "Hey, I don't ever do one liners, give me a break." Six finished, and pulled the trigger of his rifle. *Click*

"...Ah crap." He groaned. Cobb took his opportunity and pulled Six's rifle to the wall and kicked him in the groin. Six swayed in pain, loosening his grip on the rifle. Cobb grabbed it and swung it across Six's jaw. He stumbled back as Cobb charged him and tackled him to the ground. Six was ready for it and quickly flipped him over and pushed the rifle across Cobb's neck. In desperation Cobb spotted Six's bandage protecting his head wound and started to press on it, hard. Six screamed in agony as all the pain started rushing back to him. He was so disoriented that he didn't notice Cobb had flipped him back over until he felt himself not being able to breathe. Cobb pushed the rifle down on Six's throat with even greater force than Six could hold back.

"Don't mess with the Powder Gangers! We take what we want, and nobody can stop us... Too bad you won't live long enough to understand that." Cobb intimidated. Six started to black out, for the last time he finalized. Suddenly he felt Cobb loosen pressure on his neck, then slumped over him, motionless. Slowly his vision started to catch up with him as he saw a silhouette rush up towards him. It was Delilah, to Six's relief.

"Oh my god! Six! Are you okay?" She said panicked as she pulled Joe Cobb's body off of him. Six's breathing slowly returned to normal but his throat still ached, preventing him from speaking clearly without it being painful. Instead he nodded.

"C'mon. Let's get you inside." Delilah gently pulled Six onto his feet, putting an arm over her shoulders so he could lean on her. His legs were fine but he was still so disoriented that he didn't think he'd be able to make it back to the Saloon on his own.

"*Cough*.. Did I win?" He asks in a raspy voice after a couple seconds. Delilah just smiled at him with assurance.

* * *

The battle was won, but everyone was already at work cleaning up the town. Even Six had gotten to work only taking a small break for his headache to go away, against Delilah's medical recommendation. She still made him sit still so she could resew a couple new stitches to his head wound that opened up again, thanks to Cobb.

Trudy insisted that Six should stay outside the saloon while he helped Ringo, Chet, and the other settlers clean up just the town front. Amazingly all of the defenders survived with only four injuries including Six. The other's being a gunshot wound through a settler's arm, glass shards with another, and Sunny's dislocated shoulder. Doc Mitchell managed to walk down with the help of a cane to take over patching everybody up. People were debating on the morality of giving the attackers a proper burial, but Six had insisted. His argument being, _'it's the humane thing to do'._ They settled on a ridge just to the west outside the cemetery to start digging the large grave. Everybody was silent during the process. Nobody knew any of their names, aside from Joe Cobb, so the graves were largely left unmarked.

By the time they had finished, it was around 7:30pm according to Six's Pip-Boy. His stomach ached and he realized he didn't even have time to eat anything all day with the running around that he did. It was amazing what he accomplished in one day he thought. Walking back to the Saloon with everybody else he spotted the Securitron Victor strolling along the road as if nothing had happened.

"Hey Victor! didn't see you around lately. You missed all the action!" Six shouted from a distance to get his attention.

"Howdy there Six! What action did I go and miss?" Victor asked as he spun around on his wheel.

"The... Powder Gangers. they attacked and we fought them off. Didn't you hear all the gunfire?" Six said, taken aback quite a bit.

"Really? Didn't hear a thing. I guess I dozed off there for a minute."

"Dozed off? How does a robot 'Doze off'?"

"Dunno... All I can say is I did. Although, that's never happened before." Victor scratched the side of his screen, probably simulating the human gesture of scratching his head thinking.

"Hmm... maybe something's malfunctioning inside of you. There may be data corruption in one of your memory chips." It's curious that Six came to that conclusion that quickly. It's possible it was a missing link to his amnesia.

"Let me take a look." He offered.

"All right, but put everything back the way you found it!" Victor said. He let Six hop up onto his wheel and open up the back of his chassis. He saw a wire plug that seems to fit into his Pip-boy. _'Whatever happened, it should show up in the system log'_ Six thought to himself. Once he plugged the chord into his pipboy, the screen changed to a jumbled mess of computer code, but through that garbled mess something caught his eye.

"Interesting. It looks like an override command was activated."

"Override? That can't be right. Probably just a malfunctioning tube somewhere"

"Uh, no I don't think that's it. Override Command 16-Delta. Does that mean anything to you?"

"Never heard of it." Victor 'Shrugged'.

"Figures. Someone shut you down deliberately, but I didn't see a record of who." Six unplugged the wire and put everything back the way he found it before closing the Securitron's hood.

"That's a puzzle, all right. I'm sure it's nothing." Victor concluded in a voice of indifference.

"Victor, is there-" Six started before he heard a voice call out him. It was Delilah.

"Hey Six. You getting hungry? let's go grab a bite to eat!" She called out. Six's stomach answered her before he had a chance to.

"Okay! that sounds good!" He waved at her, then turned to Victor.

"I'll catch up with you later. I really need to 'refuel' before I shut down myself." He joked.

"I get ya pardner. See you around!" Victor waved, then went along with his business as he strolled along the town.

* * *

Delilah was already inside when Six walked up to the saloon. It sounded like the whole town was inside as well. He wondered if there was even going to be any food left by the time he got there. When he opened the door and stepped in he was greeted with a loud cheer and applause from absolutely everybody. The sudden attention caught him off guard but he smiled kindly and thanked people as he passed until he was stopped by Trudy and Ringo.

"I... I don't understand." Was all Six could muster. Trudy was the first to speak.

"All of us here want to thank you for what you did for us. You were right. those Powder Gangers weren't going to stop unless we did something. I see that now." She said humbly. Ringo was next.

"I think you deserve this. These are technically Crimson Caravan funds, but I know they'll understand once I explain things." Ringo handed him a cap bag. It was filled to the brim with approximately 100 caps. Six just stood there dumbfounded.

"Ringo I, I can't accept this." He said after a couple seconds.

"Take it. Your a hero! I owe you more than that, though, so look me up at the Crimson Caravan camp up in New Vegas if you ever visit."

"Well I don't know about a hero, I mean you guys did all the work-" Six started.

"Oh just accept it and let's party!" The voice of an already buzzed Vanessa blurted out from across the room. The rest of the town cheered in agreement, and the celebration picked up where it left off. There was laughter, and then dancing once a guitarist sat down on an overturned sarsaparilla crate, and played a song Six recognized as Blue Moon.

Before the crowd drifted him away, Six went to talk to Trudy. He was suppose to ask her where his attackers went before the whole Powder Ganger incident came up.

"Trudy, I've been needing to ask you, do you remember anything about the men who attacked me. Where they were headed maybe." Trudy thought for a second before she answered.

"They were having some kind of argument about it, but the guy in the checkered coat kept shushing them. Now I didn't hear exactly, but the leader did mention something about the Strip to his buddies."

"The Strip?"

"Yeah, it sounded like they came in from the north through Quarry Junction. If that's the case I can't say I blame them for not wanting to go back."

"Why's that?" Six cocked his head.

"That whole area's overrun with the kind of critters that just get mad if you shoot 'em. Merchants avoid that whole stretch of I-15 like it's radioactive. Which it could be for all I know. If that fella wants to get there and avoid the 15, he'd have to go east by taking Highway 93 up"

"Thanks Trudy. That's very helpful."

"Not a problem. Now get going, have fun. And go get something to eat for goodness sake!" Trudy gave him a quick hug and was off to tend to the bar.

"Will do Trudy." Six smiled and went to do as she said. He could only move very slowly to try and find a place to sit down. He was getting stopped constantly by townsfolk wanting to shake his hand or pat him on the back, even one of the children asked for his autograph. I was a bit awkward considering he didn't even know his own name. He ended up just writing 'Courier 6'.

Moving along slowly he saw Delilah at the bar in one of the booths. He realized that she had been by his side practically the whole day, and he hadn't even had the chance to get to know her. He started to make his way over only to be stopped once again. This time by Sunny who greeted him with with a big hug. Cheyenne at her feet, as usual wagged her tail and panted.

"You did great! That'll teach the Powder Gangs to avoid Goodsprings." She said. After letting go she shrunk back to her height after using the tips of her toes.

"Like I keep saying, it wasn't just me. You did great with the dynamite by the way!" He noticed that Sunny had her left arm in a sling. "Uh how's the arm anyway?"

"It's fine. Just a little bruised is all. Thanks for saving my hide back there."

"Hey, couldn't just leave you there and make me do all the work." Sunny smirked at that.

"I feel a bit silly though since the only other guy here in a sling has a hole in his arm." She nudged over towards the settler across the room who also had his arm in a sling. Only it was the right side. " _*Sigh*_ But that Delilah is so stubborn."

"I've kind of noticed that." Six agreed. He looked over at Delilah, who glanced up at the right moment to meet his eyes. She made a little smile but turned away quickly.

"She thinks your cute, by the way." Sunny raised an eyebrow in a hint. That got Six's attention.

"Seriously? Did she say that?"

"No. But she and I practically sisters. I know when something's up."

"But, she doesn't even know me that well. And I don't know much about her either."

"Well, I think there's enough time right now to get started." That made Six both eager and knotted up inside at the same time. An odd combination. Sunny stood up straight after leaning up against the door frame the entire time

"Well, I'm gonna get a bite to eat and make my rounds. See ya around Six."

"Uh, See ya." Six was at a standstill for a moment. He had worked and fought alongside Delilah throughout the whole day, but now he was a bit nervous to approach her.

"Hey there hero! wanna join me for dinner?" Delilah greeted him. It didn't even register in Six's mind that he had already started to walk over to her until he was right at the table.

"Uh, yeah. that sounds great!" He took a seat across from her. The brief moment of awkward silence hit them even louder than the bustling throughout the rest of the Saloon.

"Uh, how's it going?" Six asked first _._

" _*Sigh*_ Exhausted. But hey, were alive. That's something... How about you?" Delilah answered back and gave a weary smile.

"A bit sore... all over... So I never really got around to knowing more about you yet."

"Aw, that's sweet! What did you want to know?"

"Well, where did you grow up? didn't you say you were from California?".

"No, My parents were from California. When Dad met Mom, they decided to come out here make a life for themselves in the Mojave. They found Goodsprings and saw it as their own little piece of heaven. I was actually born here."She pointed her finger down on the table.

"How about your Uncle Sulik? Which side of the family was he from?"

"Uncle Sulik was my dad's best friend, and were like brothers. But not really by blood. See, Dad was raised near tribals in California, and had a close relationship with them. Uncle Sulik came with them, to protect them."

"Wow. That's really something. They must have had a real bond for him to leave his tribe to be with your parents."

"Yeah, it was very swell. He said something about being 'bound' to him. Sulik treated me just like family though, and taught me alot about tribal ways, like fighting with sticks, spear throwing, traditional rituals, but what mainly stuck with me was his tribal medicine.-"

"Who's hungry!" A voice said loudly, that nearly made Six jump. It was a waitress that had come around with a rolling cart with prepared steaks, and bowls of chopped up fruit and vegetables. The smell of the Brahmin steak made Six's mouth water.

"Oh Sammy that looks so good!" Delilah said gleefully.

"I'll be sure to tell the chef! And I know what you like Delilah. One steak medium rare, no fat, and extra prickly pears on the side." Sammy said cheerfully as she took out two dishes on a second shelf already prepared for Delilah. "And how about you Mr. Six."

"I'll have one medium well, and a fruit bowl."

"You got it" Sammy picked out the largest steak of the group and set it down in front of him. Six's eyes widened as it was the biggest meal he'd probably seen in months. Or at least from what he could remember.

"This is really fresh meat Sammy! Where's it from?" Delilah asked between mouthfuls.

I'm sorry to say it's old Betsy. Damn Powder Gangers took her down during the fight." Said Sammy with a sad face.

"Oh no! How's Old Man Larry holding up?" Delilah asked, with a hand over her mouth in surprise.

"He's a little broken up, but I think he's doing a bit better knowing she's not going to waste."

"Well, can you give him my sympathies please?"

"Will do. He'll be better before you know it." Sammy looked the two of them over one last time, " Well I'll just leave you two alone now. Enjoy." Six could tell Delilah felt more sympathetic rather than nauseated at the thought of Betsy with the way she was looking at her steak. _'That's the way the wasteland is. Take what you can and just keep moving forward'_ Six thought to himself. He decided to change the subject back to what they were discussing. Mainly to keep their mind off Poor Betsy.

"So... After all that stuff you learned from your uncle you still don't consider yourself a tribal?" Six asked finally. **  
**

"Not really, I mean I learned almost everything there is to know about the Crag, but mainly, he was just Uncle Sulik."

"So what about your parents? Are they still around?"

"No... They're both, 'at the Clearing' as Uncle Sulik would say." Delilah drifted her eyes downward toward her meal as she thought about her parents.

"Oh... I'm sorry... How did they die, if you don't mind me asking?" Six sympathized. _'Six you idiot! so much for brightening up the mood.'_ He thought to himself _  
_

"Dad was killed by Radscorpions about three years ago. He was coming back from a trading run, and he must have walked into a nest of the big fuckers. Uncle Sulik searched for him when he didn't come back on schedule. But he found him too late... The poison had run it's course. It was on my 18th birthday."

"And your Mother?"

"She... went to 'the Clearing' when I was very little. I don't have alot of memories about her."

"I'm so sorry. How did she go?"

"Mitchell's AutoDoc said 'Pancreatic cancer'... I'd rather not really talk about it if you don't mind."

"Okay. I understand... So uh, what's 'The Clearing'?" Delilah seemed to cheer up more to get off the subject.

"Well. According to the Crag, When we all leave this life we meet those we loved at the Clearing at the End of the Path. I like it. I think it adds some dignity to death."

"I like it too. Gives something to look forward too at the end."

"Yeah, it does... So, how about you? Do you remember where you're from?" Six didn't have any actual memories come to him on the subject. Just a few details.

"I remember I grew up in Oregon, I... Think I was born there. There are some spotty memories here and there."

"What do you remember?" Delilah asked even more inquisitively. Six thought more. Finally something seemed to spark in his mind.

"Well, I don't remember a whole lot... I think I had a sibling. and something about my mother that makes me feel, sad. It's all coming to me very slowly but I think it'll come back with time. I'm sure my childhood would have had been filled with wanting to be a 'Wasteland Warrior', or an explorer." Delilah let out a small giggle hearing that.

"You're funny. How about later? Do you remember anything after that?"

"Uh, I think I wandered around for a couple years. Hitchhiked with caravans, delivered packages, that sort of stuff. Then came out here because there was a call for couriers for a special delivery with good pay. That's when I got robbed, and took a shot to the head by some high roller in a checkered suit. The rest is history." Six finished.

"Wow... that's one hell of a journey. Makes my life seem boring in comparison."

"Nonsense. You've got alot going for you here."

"Like what?" Delilah asked almost sarcastically.

"Well... Your a doctor. You help everyone out."

"I'm only a nurse at best. But if I'm going to be a doctor one day, I think I'll need more experience than what Doc Mitchell can show me here."

"You have community here. That's something to be proud of."

"I guess. But, ever since I lost Uncle Sulik, it hasn't been the same. I think I need to strike out, and find my own destiny." She shrugged. A long pause hung over them as they finished their meals. Six pondered for a few minutes while chewing on a piece his steak for longer than he needed to. An idea struck him and he put down his fork with a sharp clang which got Delilah's attention.

"I've got it." He said suddenly.

"Got what?"

"Well, I'm planning on going after the people who attacked me. And I'll bet the shirt off my back they're headed to New Vegas." Six shifted in his seat slightly before he continued. "If, by any chance you'd feel up to joining me, I'm sure there's a 'Followers of the Apocalypse' community over there. They're the most knowledgeable people I can think of when it comes to medical practices. So... What do you say? I could use the company." Six smiled as he watched Delilah's eyes widen. She stayed silent for a couple seconds in disbelief.

"I... I would love to! I think... Wait, no. I-I can't. I can't leave Doc Mitchell when he needs me." She slumped back down in her seat.

"Tell you what. Just go and ask him. I think I saw him wander off over there. It never hurts to ask. And you've got nothing to loose." Six nudged his head behind her to the end of the bar stand where Doc Mitchell was perched on his cane talking to some of the other townsfolk.

"Okay... I will! Delilah said as she bounced out of her seat. "Wish me luck!" She took a deep breath and went to talk to the Doc. Six watched them both, as he tried to figure how the conversation was going. He saw Doc Mitchell pause in conversation and leaned on his cane as he glanced over at Six. After a couple seconds he said something to Delilah and nodded his head, to which she reached out and hugged him eagerly before running back to the table.

"He said yes! Oh my God this is exactly the opportunity I've been waiting for!"

"That's great!" Six feels around his pocket and found the six caps left over from his cap bag.

"I think this is a call for a toast." Six said as he stood up to get a couple drinks.

"I agree! Just uh... I try and stay away from alcohol if you don't mind."

"You got it." He darted to the counter and traded his six caps in for a couple bottles of Sunset Sarsaparilla.

"You read my mind, that's my favorite soda!" Delilah said. Six opened up both bottles and handed one to her.

"To New Vegas we go!" Delilah called out. Before they could clank their bottles they heard another voice behind them.

"Hey! You guys headin' to Vegas? Got room for a- *hic* a third?" It was Vanessa, although this time she was alot more than buzzed now.

"Uh, yeah. Did you want to come along?" Six answered a bit taken back.

"Hell yeah! I've been needin to see someone there for a while now! *hic*" Vanessa slurred as she made her way to the booth still holding her half empty whisky bottle. If Six didn't scoot over she'd be in his lap.

"Alright then. Welcome aboard, uh. Vanessa, right?"

"That's me! Who are you again?"

"You can just call me Six."

"Just... Six? *Pfft* Whatever floats your boat man." Vanessa smirked.

"Well then. To New Vegas, and to New Friends!" Delilah started the toast again. They clanked bottles and drank with no interruptions this time.

"If you need a place to stay for the night Six, My couch is very comfy." Delilah offered.

"You know what I just might take you up on that. Let's plan to be here tomorrow at... 8:00am."

"Sounds good to me!" Delilah agreed.

"Rock on, my dear, weird new friends!" Cheered Vanessa. She took another swig of her bottle to finish off her drink. Not a second later she plopped over on the ground, completely passed out. Both Six and Delilah just stared at her for a second.

"She'd better not be dead." Delilah finally said.

"I think we'll know for sure by tomorrow." Six got up out of the booth to leave with Delilah. But not before he hoisted Vanessa off the ground and into the booth to sleep the whisky off.

"I gotta tell Sunny!" Delilah said, then fished a key out of her pocket. "Go ahead and make yourself at home, I'll be back in a bit!" With that, Delilah was out the door to spread the good news.

* * *

Authors Notes:

Betsy the Brahmin: Betsy was originally suppose to be a type of pack mule in the original New Vegas game but was cut from the final game.

Sorry I'm a bit late. See you all next Chapter!


	3. The Journey Begins

Six woke up lying in the dirt. His hands were bound like last time but he could still stand up. It was still nightfall and he couldn't see anything further than a few feet away. He turned around in circles and looked for anything that could tell him where he was. Only to see a very deep hole right in front of him.

"What the hell? Where am I?" Six said to himself. His heart was pounding harder, as if it was about ready to burst out of his chest. All of a sudden he heard a familiar snap from a lighter. He whipped around and found himself face to face with none other than the man in the checkered coat. A cigarette lit up his face just enough for him to get a glimpse of man was probably in his mid 30s though the comparable lack of wear on his face made it hard to tell. He had a crooked smile with pearly white teeth. His hair was in a pompadour style that was slicked back with probably more hair gel than a normal wastelander would have probably ever seen. The man took a deep inhale of his cigarette and blew the smoke in Six's face. The familiar smell nearly made him gag.

"Sorry you got twisted up in this scene." The checkered man said as he pointed his nickel plated gun to Six's head, again.

"Truth is... The game was rigged from the start."

"No... NO!" Six backed away absolutely terrified, right as the gun fired. He felt the agonizing pain yet again as his foot slipped off the edge of the hole, and he fell in. The hole was much deeper this time. In fact, it didn't seem to have a bottom as he continued to fall straight through. He screamed in agony and sheer terror tearfully, knowing nobody would hear him. Suddenly, he felt a hand pull at him towards a bright light that shone behind him.

"Six! SIX! It's okay!" He heard a familiar voice call out to him. He burst his eyes open and darted up, drenched in a cold sweat. He looked over to see Delilah next to him with a lit lantern.

"You're safe Six. It was just a bad dream." Delilah said in her soft voice. She put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him but he could see the worried look on her face.

"I... I saw him. The man who shot me." Six explained trying to calm his nerves. She walked over to the kitchen and retrieved a bottle of Brahmin milk out of the refrigerator that was jury rigged to a makeshift battery.

"It's alright... It's over now." She said as she handed him a glass. Six sat there in silence as he stared at the off yellow colored milk for a couple seconds.

"He stole it all from me. Not just the package, but my identity. My life."

"But, didn't you say yourself that it's coming back?" Delilah asked.

"Some of it. But it's weird. But all I remember are... Facts. No memories, no moments I've lived. I've been trying so hard, but I can't remember anything about my family, my home. I can't even remember my name."

"It will. Just give it some time."

"Time..." Six repeated to himself. He took a long gulp of milk which nearly finished the glass.

"Try and get some sleep. We've got a long road ahead of us." Delilah took the glass from him after he finished and started her way back to bed.

"Delilah?" Six called out to her once more.

"Yes?"

"Thanks... For everything." Delilah returned a warm smile.

"I'll see you in the morning." She said, and continued back to her room. Six didn't get any sleep the rest of the night.

* * *

By morning Six had begun to pack what little supplies he had in his messenger bag. He made a mental note to stop off at the General store before they started out on their journey. Delilah wasn't home but she had a satchel and backpack already packed by the door. He set his bag down next to hers and started his way to the Prospector's Saloon. He figured she might be there helping out with cleaning the place up.

The Saloon was very quiet and to his surprise, very clean. There was no sign that there was a party the night before. In addition, the windows in the front were already boarded up very neatly and looked as if there were no battle damage the other day. _'Trudy really does know how to keep a clean house'_ he thought to himself as he turned the corner to the bar.

"Good morning Six." He heard Trudy's voice as she poked her head out from straightening glasses out from under the counter.

"Morning Trudy! Some party last night. I'm surprised to see the place already back up and running. Was going to see if I could pitch in somehow."

"That's mighty kind of you, but it's nothing I couldn't handle. Plus Delilah already came by and helped out with the dishes and finished up repairing the windows." Trudy had automatically pulled out a glass and filled it with water to hand to Six before she continued. "I'm sure glad that business is over. I like it when Goodsprings is nice and quiet.

"I can attest to that." Six said before he took a gulp of his water. "Speaking of which, you ever turn on your radio? You know, get a little background music to keep from going insane?" Trudy chuckled at that.

"I would, but one of the Great Khans, that were with the man in the fancy suit, knocked my radio to the floor 'by accident,' and it hasn't been working since."

"Want me to take a look at it? I know a little around electronics." Six said, already on his way to look the device over.

"Sure. There'd be caps in it for you. I do like to hear what's going on in the world. And that Mr. New Vegas seems like such a gentleman."

"Well maybe if I see him when I get there I'll send you an autograph." He said as he carefully started to unscrew the back panel of the radio.

"The outside looks okay, but I think something broke on the inside." She said. Six pulled the circuit board out that looked like a mess of wires and vacuum tubes. "Why don't I get breakfast going. You two are going to need the energy. How do you like your eggs?"

"Uh, surprise me. Say, where is Delilah anyway?" He continued.

"Over at the general store picking up supplies for the road. She said she'll be back in a little bit." Trudy finished and headed to the kitchen area

Six took his time to retrace the circuits to anything out of place. In the far corner of the radio's casing, he spotted the problem. A small glass fuse that came loose from one of the sockets. After plugging it in and tightening down several other other vacuum tubes he reassembled the radio and re-hooked the fission battery. It's speakers came back to life with the music slowly getting louder from the tubes warming back up. Just then he heard the front door as someone passed through. He looked up to see Delilah. Her hair was tied up in the same short low hanging pigtails like the day before. A smile streaked across her face as she heard the radio.

"You fixed Trudy's radio? Right on!" She said.

"It was nothing. just some tightening here and there.

"Did you manage to get any sleep last night?"

"Yep. I'm good to go." Six lied. He was still very tired but he didn't want to bring the moment down. "Hope you didn't loose too much sleep on my account."

"It's alright. nothing to worry about. So, did you eat yet?" Just then, Trudy emerged with two plates of what looked like omelets and squares of meats.

"Here you are you two, Wasteland Omelet with a side of fried cram. I didn't have any more bacon so I hope you don't mind the substitute.

"Trudy your omelets are always amazing! Thank you!" Delilah said as she sat down in one of the booths. "I saw Six fix your radio for you."

"Yep, I heard it turn right back on after you walked through the door." Trudy turned to Six and held out a hand full of caps. "Here's some caps for the work." But Six just held up a hand.

"That's not necessary. I love tinkering with old things!" He smiled.

"Okay, but breakfast is on me then. And that's final." She said as she smiled back, then walked off to continue her cleaning. The Omelette was delicious and disappeared quickly off both plates, although Six mostly hovered over the cram. Delilah took notice.

"You know, I'm not sure what's worse. the fact that pre-war food should have completely disintegrated by now, or the amount of chemicals they must have put in them to keep them edible this long." She said after a second.

"Hey, if we eat enough of it we just might live forever. Assuming the rads don't kill us first." Six joked back. He thought it was probably a pretty lame joke. Delilah gave a little giggle regardless. After their plates were clean and their bellies full, Delilah was first to break the silence.

"So what's the plan?" Six held up his left arm and tapped on his pipboy that he recently found out had a map of Nevada and zoomed in to the area around New Vegas.

"Well, The men who shot me were talking about the strip, so they have to be heading to New Vegas. Trudy told me that the I-15 is overrun with some kind of creatures that are making quarry junction impassable" Six pointed along the roads as he narrated. "So the way I see it, they're going to head south and take Highway 95 all the way down and around the mountain ranges. Then up to Highway 93 right to the strip" He noticed the time, at 8:23am. "Hey where's Vanessa? Didn't she say she was going to join us?"

"Yeah... I wonder what happened." Delilah said as she looked around the bar.

"If she's not here soon, were going to have to leave without her."

"I'll say, the sooner the better. That looks like quite a long journey. At least five days." She said as she squinted at the tiny screen. **  
**

"I know. But if we can, I want to see if I can get to Quarry Junction and at least 'scout out' to see what we'd be dealing with. If it's something we can get through, we can cut off those five days and be there by sundown."

"That's a good trade off. But what if we can't get through?"

"Then we'll just have to take the same route as they did. Maybe ask around the towns to see if there's a way we can cut through those mountains." Delilah looked a bit more concerned about the whole thing. Six could tell she was anxious with the journey and getting started on her medical training.

"Don't worry. If that city slicker can get through that road, then we sure as hell can." That put more reassurance in Delilah's face. Just then the Saloon door opened and in walked Vanessa at a very slow pace. Slung over her shoulder was a homemade burlap sack she used as a backpack and a modified assault rifle. The door slammed shut behind her and made her clutch her head in pain, trying to keep it from splitting wide open.

"Vanessa, We've been waiting for you... Are you okay?" Delilah started.

"Oh god. Please, don't talk so loud." Vanessa said weakly.

"Are you all packed for the road?" Six asked in a lower tone voice to not upset her hangover. Vanessa still had her head facing downwards but gave him a thumbs up. They gathered their things and head to the bar to give Trudy the dirty dishes they ate off of.

"Hey Trudy, have you seen Sunny around yet?" Delilah asked.

"I did. She headed out on patrol before you came in. Are you guys heading out of town now?" She asked as she took the plates behind the counter.

"Yeah, we'd better get on the road if I'm going to catch up with those thugs." Six replied.

"Hold on, then I have something to give you guys for the road." She ducked behind the counter to gather everything up.

"That's very kind of you, but you've already done so much." Six started.

"Nonsense. I do this because I want to. Like I'm sure Sunny already mentioned. I'm pretty much the den mother of this town." They gathered around the counter as she pulled out the first item for Delilah, which was a 12.7oz bottle of 'Harts Sr.' 140 proof' Bourbon.

"Wow Trudy! This is your good stuff. A-are you sure?" Delilah asked, quite shocked.

"Positive. Just remember to use it for emergencies only. Not that I'd have to remind you." Trudy smiled.

"Won't waste a drop. Thank you Trudy!" Delilah reached over the counter and gaves Trudy a big hug. Though it ended up being Trudy reaching over because of Delilah's shorter stature.

"And for you Vanessa. First of all I prepared you some hydra for your hangover, and this." Trudy handed over three ammo clips of .223 ammo. "It's not that military grade like you prefer but it's what I could get you."

"Trudy, you're a life saver."

"You're a kind soul Vanessa, don't ever forget that. Take care of yourself out there."

"I will. Thanks for everything." Vanessa said with a big smile.

"Alright Six, I want you to have this. Got it a few years ago from a trader when I was a lot younger. I never used it but I think it will do better in your hands." She handed him a large leather backpack, fully packed with a small collapsible tent and wool blanket. "And, this. Thought it might help you in case you need help to remember anything." Lastly, she handed him a small blank book with a golden-gecko leather cover. It was definitely post-war with homemade paper on the inside but was assembled with beautiful quality nonetheless.

"I... I don't know what to say. 'Thank you' doesn't even come close!" Six could feel himself tearing up at her, and the whole town's kindness. It was Trudy's turn to lean over the counter and give the courier a hug.

* * *

Lastly was Doc Mitchell's house to say their goodbyes, and so Six could return the rifle to the Doc. They stopped off at Delilah's house first to gather the rest of their supplies and took the dirt road to the Doc's house.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Delilah said as she pulled out several pieces of cloth from her bag. "I got these at the General store. Chet said it's the best thing to have!" She handed a red paisley one to Six, a light blue plaid one to Vanessa, and kept a orange, white, and brown striped one for herself.

"Delilah... These are just bandannas." Vanessa said.

"It's the ultimate multi-tool with a thousand and one uses! Good for keeping you cool, protect you from the elements, and a good tourniquet as well!"

"How much did you pay?"

"Just... 20 caps apiece?" Delilah said slowly. Vanessa snorted when she heard that.

"Hate to break it to you, but you got ripped off." Delilah's smile faded quickly and began to blush with embarrassment."

"Oh cut it out Vanessa." Six said, then turned to Delilah. "I think it's a great investment, look!" He tied his around his neck, much like an old west desperado would. "And it's stylish! I feel like I can hit a casino anytime now!" Vanessa rolled her eyes at him while Delilah's smile returned.

They made it to the house where Doc Mitchell invited them in to the living room, although Vanessa opted to wait outside, still sipping her Hydra with a bendy straw.

"I suppose you're here to say your farewells, am I right?" Doc Mitchell asked the pair.

"Yes. Got some unfinished business to take care of. I can't thank you enough for what you did for me." Six answered.

"And I can't tell you enough it's no problem." Doc said with a chuckle in his voice. Six pulled out the three stimpaks he promised to pay him back for, and unslung the rifle to return it. Before he could say anything Doc Mitchell held up his hand to stop him. "No no... You take it. My fighting days are over. To be honest, I think I'd rather have it be with you than on my mantle. Keep the Stimpaks too. or better yet, give them to Delilah." Six stepped forwards and shook his hand.

"Thank you so much." He said with a look in his eye that was beyond gratitude. Doc Mitchell also pulled out an old doctors bag full of supplies and handed it over to Delilah.

"Found some more supplies I could part with. And with your knowledge, I know you'll do just fine with these" Delilah's eyes were tearful when she went to give Doc Mitchell a long hug. "Gonna miss you kid. you've been a big help all these years, but it's time for you to spread your wings." He said, as he seemed to fight back tears of his own.

"I'll come back. I promise." Delilah said as she finally let go.

"I'll hold you to that. Maybe you'll end up teaching 'me' a thing or two." He said. Delilah laughs through her tears.

* * *

Finally the trio were on the road. Delilah took a moment for a long look back to the town as if to say goodbye.

"You okay?" Six asked as he looked back to her.

"Yeah. I'm... I'll be fine. This is the first time I really got the chance to leave home. I wonder if I'll actually see it again."

"Don't worry Delilah. You will. Just think of the stories you'll have when you come back."

"Yeah. I'll be just like my dad." She said to cheer herself up.

"I'm sure you will. Come on. let's go fill up our canteens."

"Sunny should be around here. I gotta say goodbye to her too." Delilah said. They make their way along the road south. Sure enough, halfway to Goodsprings Source they spotted Sunny on her patrol along with her dog Cheyenne. Delilah waved her down and started to run over to her. Six and Vanessa followed trying to keep up. Sunny gave Delilah a big sisterly hug before she turned to Six.

"You all on your way out?" She asked with her usual cheerful smile.

"Yeah. Were off on our 'Quest'. How's the arm doing?"

"Much better. Thanks!"

"We're going to go fill up our water supplies first though". Six said as he bent down to pet Cheyenne. Her tail wagged with the attention.

"Great! I gotta go chase geckos away from our water supply anyway. Darn critters are attracted to it. Why don't you come along and get some range time in?"

Couldn't hurt. Wouldn't mind a little target practice." Six unslung his rifle and turned to Vanessa and Delilah.

"How 'bout it girls? Want to help get some geckos?"

"I'm in"

"Bring it on!"

"Alright! I love the enthusiasm!" Sunny said with excitement. "Follow me. It's just down to the southeast a short ways" Sunny started off at a brisk pace. They came up before the foot of a hill where they could hear a Gecko scurrying and chattering around. They crouched down to avoid attracting the Gecko's attention.

"Hear that up on the ridge there? We got some geckos to clear out. Let's see if we can get a little closer. If we move quietly, we can get the jump on 'em. More likely to hit something vital that way." Sunny whispered to the group.

"Got it" Six whispered. He and Vanessa veered to the left of the path while Sunny went to the right, Cheyenne directly behind her hunched down as well. Delilah hung back ready to help if someone were to be injured. Up ahead there were four large geckos by the water well. Three of them were sunbathing while one was trying to get water out of the spout of the silo. They seemed to be almost three feet long but it was hard to tell at that distance.

"Hold up. I got this one." Vanessa whispered over to Six and took the lead. she dug out a black rod out of her bag, which she then fit onto the end of her rifle barrel.

"A silencer. Nice." Six whispered back to her. Vanessa gave a sideways glance and a smirk before she picked her first target, and fired. The gecko by the water well plopped down motionless. The other three didn't seem to notice and continued to sit motionless in the sunlight.

Six took his turn next. He veered out from behind the brush to get a better shot at the closest one. Suddenly he heard a metal clang. He kicked a metal bucket he didn't notice sitting there by one of the silos. The geckos darted up and sprinted toward him on two legs faster than he could blink. He quickly fired the first shot and took out the gecko in the back, Sunny was right behind Six and took out the next. The lead Gecko leapt for Six with its wide mouth open just as he was working the bolt of his gun. He braces the bite with his rifle and could see what looked like hundreds of needle pointed teeth lining its jaw. He rolled back and managed to get his foot under the gecko and kicked it off. The gecko flew over him, almost landing on Delilah who leapt out of the way and braced a nearby boulder. The gecko ignored her and scrambled back on its feet to sprint at Six again. He rolled over, took aim and fired. The bullet found it's mark square in the gecko's eye. It plopped to the ground and slid forwards a few feet before it came to a complete halt.

"Woo! That was intense!" Six said as he rolled back over and laughed.

"Those were some tricky moves there, Six." Sunny said as she stood over him. She held out her hand and helped him up. They both looked over to see Vanessa who sat leaned up comfortably against a boulder.

"What? It looked like you had things covered." Vanessa said as she shrugged off Six's frown.

"Hey. There's two more wells that still need clearing. If you guys want you can come along. It'd be worth a few caps to me." Sunny said to change the conversation.

"Hey, might as well since were out here." Delilah said as she walked over brushing the dust off her.

"You all right?" Six asked.

"Never better" She smiled.

"C'mon. Just over yonder." Sunny continued on. The trio followed and came up to three more geckos by the second well. They crouched down again to not get their attention. Six took the initiative to watch his footing very carefully now.

"Bunch of little monsters is what they are." Sunny whispered and turned towards Delilah. "Seems like you and Doc Mitchell treats more gecko bites than anything else."

"Makes plenty of practice." She joked back. Sunny raised her rifle and picks out a target, Six did the same. She noticed the rifle Doc Mitchell gave him was quite a bit larger than hers. She had been envying it since before Six arrived in town.

"Hey Six, mind if I try that out?" He agreed and swapped rifles with her. It was much heavier than she was used to with her old Varmint Rifle but managed to balance it. She waited a couple seconds for the geckos to wander into position. She fired with a loud 'crack', and two geckos flopped over dead. She managed to get two head shots with one bullet. Six was very impressed. He raised Sunny's gun and took out the last gecko.

"Nice! but, I think I'll stick with o'l Wanda here." Sunny said before they swapped rifles back.

"Where to next?" Six asked.

"Just over here, down the hill." She pointed further south. they double backed a couple yards to find the trail down. All of a sudden they heard a scream for help. Instantly, all four sprinted over to the source of the scream. Right by the last water well, they saw three more geckos that were clawing and snarling at a woman on top of a silo trying to fend them off with a meat cleaver. Six, Vanessa, and Sunny all fired into the group of geckos and put them down quickly.

"You okay?" Six called out to the Blonde haired woman. She took a second to respond before she nodded. He stepped up to the concrete reservoir and gave her a hand down. He recognized her as the waitress, Sammy, from the other night.

"Holy molly!"Sammy started as she took a step onto the ground. "If you hadn't come here like you done, I'd be a goner for sure." She winced in pain slightly. Delilah rushed past Six to examine her for any bites or cuts.

"I'm okay Delilah. Just sprained my ankle tryin' to jump onto the tower." Sammy said. She also had a couple light scrapes on her knees that Delilah started to clean after checking her ankle.

"What were you doing up here all alone?" Delilah asked after she finished up.

I came up here to draw some water, but... I didn't think there'd be geckos out here at this time of the day." Sunny then stammered over to her.

"Dammit Sammy! Not a day goes by I don't tell you all to not wander out here alone!" She shouted at her. Cheyenne followed closely but had her ears down rather than something that would classically match Sunny's attitude.

"I'm sorry Sunny, but everyone else was busy and-"

"Sorry's not going to keep you safe out here! The next time you decide to-" Suddenly Cheyenne got in between the two and started to paw at Sunny's leg. Almost like she was saying Sunny was getting 'too' upset. It worked, and Sunny calmed her down instantly.

"* _sigh_ * You're right Cheyenne... I'm sorry Sammy. You just gotta be more careful out here."

"I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to be too much trouble."

"Next time just wait for me to get back, I'd gladly go back out with you." Sunny said now fully calmed down again. Everyone took a moment to catch their breath and rest. After a moment Sunny walked over to Six with a light punch to the arm.

"Now that was some good work. Even got a little exciting here at the end." She commented as they looked over the geckos.

"All in a days work I guess." Six answered. "You deal with this every day?"

"Just about. It'd cost a fortune in ammo if I didn't know how to use a reloading press. The geckos here aren't too tough though, but they've got a nasty bite. I've heard about bigger, nastier versions out in the wasteland, but I've never seen them.

"Really? Like how big?"

"Oh, 5... maybe 6 feet long." That made Six gulp silently. Sunny seemed to notice.

"Just stick to the roads when you can, and steer clear of the hills northwest of Goodsprings. The critters up there are big and poisonous."

"Thanks for the tip."

"Oh yeah. Like I promised. Here's a little spending money for your troubles" She tossed him a bag of what felt like 40 caps. As usual Six thought of turning it down, but seeing as they would probably need it he accepted the bag.

"I'll put it to good use. Thank you" Six tucked the bag in his satchel where they pooled their caps in.

"I'm going to head back with Sammy now. Hope I didn't miss anything good on the jukebox. Cheyenne would never forgive me." Sunny chuckled, then looked to Delilah, who stood up and gave her a big hug.

"I'm gonna miss you Sunny." She said, both exited for the journey but also sad that she had to say goodbye to her best friend.

"I'm gonna miss you too Powderpuff! Your like the little sis I never had!" Sunny said back and started to tear up. "You take care of yourself out there, you hear?!". After letting go she turned to Six again.

"I hope you find who it is you're looking for. And come on back again when you get the chance. Would love to hear about the Mojave." Six held his hand out to give her a hand shake. She took it and pulled into a quick hug.

* * *

After Sunny and Sammy left, the trio started to fill up their water reserves at the silo. Six spoke first.

"So, 'Powderpuff' huh? How'd you get that nickname?" He asked Delilah. She gave a little chuckle before answering.

"Oh... It's a nickname Sunny gave me when we were little. It's because I was always so dainty compared to the other kids.

"And how about Sunny? Is Smiles her nickname or?"

"Sunny's real name is Samara. Last name is hers believe it or not. She always had this sunny disposition to her so I always called her Sunny."

"Alright, That makes sense." Six finished as he took a swig of water before filling it up again. Delilah did the same with a flask shaped blue canteen with the number 13 on it. "Interesting canteen. Looks like one of those vault ones."

"It was my dad's. He said he got it from a trader years ago in California."

"Must be a lucky canteen. Lucky'13". Both snarked at the irony.

"You know, the whole bad number 13 is just talk." Vanessa pitched in as she started to fill up her water bladder with them.

"What do you mean?" Delilah asked. Six was about to ask the same thing.

"Well, the number 13 used to represent Strength, and also Femininity. But later on, the number 13, and friday the 13th were considered a bad omen when King Philip the 4th of France had the Templar Knights arrested on Friday, October 13, 1307 and later tortured and killed. And also back when the monks used to write the calendars, they based it on the 12 full moons in a year, but it would be a bad sign when there were 13 full moons in a year. There are lots of other good and bad instances, but basically, I just see it as all a big coincidence." Both Six and Delilah had the face of utter confusion in what Vanessa said. But at the same time they were impressed at what she knew about it all.

"Hey, I did alot of reading back east." She said in response to their looks.

"You came from back east? How far?" Six asked. Vanessa had their full attention now.

"About as far as you can get. The Capital Wasteland." Delilah's green eyes widened when she heard that.

"Wow! So you must have lots of stories then?" She asked.

"Maybe another time. I want to get going." Vanessa said as she repacked her water, to Delilah's disappointment. Six checked the time on his Pip-boy. it was already 10:14

"She's right. We'd better get moving." They finished quenching their thirst, filled their water reserves, and were off on the road again.

"Oh, I almost forgot. I thought you should have this." Delilah said after a few minutes. She started to rummage through her shoulder bag.

"More gifts? I'm going to be over encumbered before we even get there." Six joked.

"No. not really. More like something you've earned." She pulled out a black cowboy style revolver that had a carved wooden grip on it. Six recognized it as the one that belonged to Joe Cobb.

"Woah! that's a beauty. thanks!" Six checked the cylinder and listened to it click smoothly through all six chambers. Then pointed it off to the side to check the sights and the grip. He looked to Delilah but realized she was traveling a bit... 'light'.

"Wait a second. Don't you have a weapon?" He asked after a second.

"No. But don't worry. I'll be fine." She said with confidence. Six looked at his gift for a minute. He didn't want to reject it, but his gut told him the right thing to do.

"You'd better take it then. " He handed the revolver back to her. She looked it over both with excitement and uncertainty, then back at him with the same face.

"Better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it." He said. knowing what she would say next. "Thanks. by the way, for saving me back there. I don't think I got around to saying it yet"

"When? during the fight?"

"Yeah, you're the one who shot Cobb, right?"

"No... That wasn't me. I ran over because I heard the shot. I thought you shot him."

"Wait." Six stopped for a second, puzzled. "Then who...?" Delilah just shrugged.

* * *

After a few more minutes of walking they came up to the I-15. A rusty green pre-war sign with arrows pointed to the directions of Las Vegas to the north (which is what they used to call New Vegas before the bombs fell), and Primm to the south. There was another arrow that pointed straight ahead to a shack, 'Jean'. Curiosity overcame them and they decided to investigate. The shack was outside of town so it was most likely abandoned. As they got closer they saw a sign on the front of the building that read 'JEAN'S SKY DIVING'.

"Sky... Diving? what's that suppose to be? What, did they jump out of airplanes or something?" Delilah jokingly said as she rubbed the dust off the sign to get a better look.

"Actually, I think so. I think it was suppose to be a fun hobby before the war." Six answered.

"That's a bit insane. But probably a fun way to end it."

"No. I'd think they'd give them parachutes first."

"Oh..." She blushed, embarrassed for how naive she must have sounded. Vanessa scoffed at the sign.

"Pff. I don't know why anyone would be dumb enough to jump out of a perfectly good airplane." Just then Six heard something out into the distance behind the shack. He peered around to see four Powder Gangers down the ridge. Two were leaning up against a rusted out plane. The others were gathered around talking among each other. Suddenly one whipped around to their direction. Six darted back behind the wall hoping they didn't see him.

"Something wrong?" Delilah asked as she saw Six's face.

"Powder gangers." He whispered. Her face dropped at that name. Vanessa proceeded to take a look around the other corner of the shack. Two gangers were walking up the ridge. They must have spotted them. She whipped back around as well.

"We've got two comin' up." Six took another quick glance at them before coming up with a plan.

"Vanessa, you think you can take the one on the left while I get the right? We can rush the other two then."

"I like sounds like a plan."

"Alright, on my mark. Three... Two...-"

"Wait!" Delilah urgently whispered to him. "There's five more coming up the road!" Six took yet another look. Sure enough, there were five more men, all armed with guns, knives, and even a baseball bat. The two curious powder gangers met up with them, and eventually pointed towards the shack.

"Shit!" He cursed under his breath as he came back around.

"What do we do? there's too many for us to take out quickly." Delilah asked. Vanessa tried the door to the shack, unsuccessfully. After a second her eyes drifted to Delilah's hair, then plucked out a bobby pin.

"Hey-!" Delilah started.

"Shush!" Vanessa Snapped back.

"They're getting closer. Whatever you're doing, hurry up." Six said. He could hear their footsteps now. There were seven of them now. Three of them veered to the other side of the shack to flank them. Finally Vanessa unlocked the door and everyone piled in. Locking the door behind them.

Their footsteps were in front of the shack now. Six pulled out his shotgun and loaded the one shell he owned in it and pumped it very slowly to try and not make too much noise. One of the powder gangers pulled on the locked knob.

"It's locked. Ain't nutin up here." The first ganger said. After a couple seconds, another, most likely the one with the bat, Started to beat on the door and wall hard. After a couple seconds he stopped and listened to see if anything scurried inside.

"Alright, let's get the fuck outta here. Heard Felix got a hold of a whole crate full of Fancy Lads. And I'm hungry." Another said after another second.

"Are you ever not hungry?" the last ganger asked.

"Fuck you."

* * *

The trio stayed still as could be as they heard the Powder Ganger's footsteps fade away. They breathed a sigh of relief, but decided to wait it out for another ten minutes before Six peered out again. After the coast was clear they headed back on the road north.

Another hour passed by and the heat started to become more intense. Six wiped the sweat off his brow, and felt the bandage still on his head.

"I can take this bandage off now, right?" He asked. They stopped for a second as Delilah tended to him.

"Yeah. Just let me look at it and make sure you don't have any leaks." She turned Six's head and peeled off the bandage with her gentle hands.

"The stitches seem to be holding good. I think you're in the clear. Just be gentle and try not to poke at it". She finished her examination just as Vanessa saw Six's scar for the first time.

"Whoah what happened to your head? You try to kiss a deathclaw or something?" She joked.

"Oh yeah, you know how it goes. You meet a deathclaw, take her out, then get a goodnight peck on the head." Six answered.

"Haha! Very funny!" she chuckled. As did Six.

"Yeah, But seriously though, I got jumped by some guy in a checkered suit and some Khans a few nights back for something I was delivering to Vegas. They stole it, shot me in the head, and buried me in a shallow grave. I'm surprised you didn't hear this yet." He answered. They continued walking as they carried on their conversation.

"What an asshole. Also a horrible shot if he couldn't kill you at point blank. just saying." Vanessa snorted.

"Well he's not getting away with it. Now I know where he's going. So what about you? You don't talk about yourself very much." She just shrugged.

"If you show me respect, I give respect. Simple"

"Anything else?"

"Let's see... I'm a great shot, and I really like whisky. It's... a bad family habit."

"So why are you heading to New Vegas? You seemed pretty exited to head there."

"Just some... Business I needed to take care of."

"What kind exactly?"

"The kind that's none of yours". She finished politely, but Six could read through the lines that she wasn't going to open up about it anytime soon. Delilah carried it on.

"How about the Capital Wasteland? Got anything you can tell us about there?"

"Oh yeah, loads." Vanessa said. Six and Delilah waited to hear more from her. Finally she turned back to them. "What? Now?" Six gave her a shrug.

"It passes the time if you're willing to share something." Vanessa just gave him a coy smile.

"Tell you what, let's get out of this heat, buy me a drink or two, then I'll talk."

"It's a deal!" Six smiled.

Further up the road they started to smell a horrible stench. It seemed to be coming from a broken down trailer that was up ahead. Upon further inspection they found at least three bodies littered across the ground, plus a brahmin that was slumped over, still attached to the trailer it was hauling.

"This must have been Ringo's Caravan." Six said as he held back the urge to vomit. They stopped to assess what happened exactly. It seemed to have happened just like Ringo described. the first guard was shot in the head, his rifle still slung on his back. The dead Powder Ganger off to the right was stabbed in the chest, and a dried blood trail lead behind the trailer. Vanessa started to rummage through the dead Powder Ganger for anything useful, only to come up with a couple NCR dollars. Delilah followed the blood trail ahead of the group, She turned the corner and gave a lout gasp. The other two ran around the corner as well to see what had startled her. What they saw was a grisly sight.

The female guard was sprawled out with her armor torn off. Dark bruises marked her breasts and lower abdomen , it was clear that she had been brutally raped before her throat was finally sliced. Six was shocked to see that scene right before his eyes, but his attention turned to Delilah who had frozen in place, her hands were over her mouth and tears started to pour down the sides of her face. Six put his hand on her shoulder to comfort her. she spun around and buried her head in his chest.

"It's okay." Was all Six could muster. There really wasn't much he could say anyway. Nor that needed to be said.

They took a few minutes out of their journey to carry the two guards into the trailer onto a mattress that was inside. They covered both bodies with blankets they also found and paid their respects. It was the humane thing to do for them after what they had suffered. Although they left the Powder ganger body out to rot in the beating sun. Nobody questioned it. Before they left, they scavenged what they could find of any use. There was still a considerable amount that the Powder gangers left behind. Supplies included a dozen Energy Cells they could use for trade, a 9mm Pistol and 14 rounds which Six took as a temporary replacement for his 10mm, some 5.56 rounds which Vanessa was able to use for her rifle, a stimpak and psycho that Delilah put with the rest of her supplies, a handful of 20 gauge rounds that sadly were the wrong size for Six's shotgun, and finally 28 caps along with $345 in NCR currency. To Six's disappointment Vanessa explained the NCR money exchange rate only came up to around 138 caps.

Nobody said anything else as they continued north. Delilah had her head down the whole way, and Vanessa started to drink the last of her Whisky she was saving in her bag. It was close to noon now but Six was already mentally done for the day. Just in time they see several shack buildings off to the side of the road. in the middle of the highway was what looked like a road block where a man in a yellow hard had started to wave them down. When they got closer he started to call out to them.

"Hold up! there are Deathclaws all over the damn place north of here. I'd turn back if I were you."

"Deathclaws? why couldn't it just be giant geckos" Six groaned to himself...

* * *

 **Authors Notes:  
**

 **Leather Backpacks: A shout out to d_Ivanov who is the mod author for Leather backpacks in the game. Very cool mod and if you think about it, a necessity. Check it out**

 **newvegas/mods/39611/?**

 **The bottle of 'Harts Sr.' 140 proof' Bourbon is a reference to the real life drink: Stagg jr "robust" bourbon**

 **Wanda is a cameo for a cut content Assault Rifle cut from the game in Fallout 3.**

 **See you all next chapter!**


	4. One Steps Sideways

Quarry Junction was eerily still. The crumbling dust covered the I-15 road that ran straight through the valley of the quarry and north to New Vegas. The Grey hills to the west were cut at almost perfect angles that they resembled stone building blocks along the walls. Six had pulled out his binoculars to see if he could spot one of the Deathclaw that the quarry Foreman, by the name of Chomps Lewis had warned about. New Vegas was fully visible even from that distance which was less than a day's walk from where they stood at the edge of Sloan. Six was currently perched up against a warning sign with a Deathclaw painted on it as he peered off into the distance. His two companions were at his side wondering the same as he was. Vanessa had pulled out her rifle and was using the scope to peer over the valley as well.

"So what do you think?" Delilah asked Six after a few seconds.

"It looks clear but... I don't know. Lots of flat land there, it'd be a perfect hunting ground for them." Six responded as he mulled over the decision in his head. Delilah squinted her eyes as she tried to look over the valley herself.

"I say we try it." Vanessa said as she continued to look through her scope. The hairs on the back of her head stood up as she sensed the two stare at her in disagreement. "But, you know... We wait till it gets dark." She added on to try and ease their glares. Chomps had walked over in the middle of their discussion without them knowing.

"Deathclaws have poor vision, but they're going to be able to hear you from a mile away. Even if you had a stealth-boy on you." He said. His sudden input made everyone jump.

"Well... What now?" Delilah asked finally. Six took one more look before he answered.

"We head south, around the mountains. I want to get to New Vegas as badly as anyone, but I'd rather take the time and still be alive when we get there. Besides, My Delivery Order came from Primm, and I'd like to see if I can get some answers on that as well." Six started to put his binoculars back in his satchel. Suddenly they heard what sounded like a small but loud engine coming from the quarry. He pulled his binoculars back out and looked for the source of the sound. After a few seconds, he saw a motorcycle burst out from the west side of the quarry. Two Deathclaws were on his tail.

The Deathclaws were lizard-like creatures that stood about ten feet tall and claws nearly three feet long. Hence the name. They had milky white eyes and two large horns jetted out of their skulls with the face of a demon. Some would say they looked like a dragon from the prewar comic books without the wings.

"Look at that!" Delilah blurted out as the two Deathclaws started to close in on the biker. Even on his motorcycle he was having trouble outrunning them. Then ahead of him, a third Deathclaw stormed out from behind a wrecked train car. They set a trap for him.

"He's not going to make it!" Vanessa yelled still looking through her scope. By this time Six was sharing his binoculars with Delilah, looking through opposite lenses. He took the courtesy to make sure he got the side with the cracked lens so that Delilah could see better. The third Deathclaw lunged at the biker, but he was prepared for it, and took a dive back with his bike as it slid forward on its side, just underneath the Deathclaw as it landed headfirst into the first two, toppling them over in a tangled mess. The biker quickly recovered and roared south, quickly passing up Six's group. The two girls along with most of the workers cheer on while Six stared in awe. The biker gave an ILY hand signal as he passed, undoubtedly meant for the girls.

"What a guy!" Vanessa said in a flattered voice. They stood there still staring at the defeated Deathclaws in the quarry for a few minutes until they stormed back deeper into the quarry. Just then they heard a bell ring from the shack buildings. All the workers got up and gathered at the shack.

"Lunch time boys and girls" Chomps called out to the other workers. He glanced over at the trio and waved them over. "If you've got the caps, we've got plenty of grub to go around." He said before heading in himself.

"Well, since were here, who's hungry?" Six asked as his stomach started to growl. As the trio made their way inside, Delilah hung back as she spotted a mole rat to the left of the camp ground. She was startled at first and even thought about going for her pistol, but stopped when she noticed it started to pant, almost like a dog. She had never seen that before. The mole rat was definitely tame, which she also never heard of either. Before long she even started to see the ugly little wrinkled mess as adorable.

"Well hello there little buddy, what's your name?" Delilah said in a sweet voice. She saw the mole rat had an old dog collar on it. It read, 'SNUFFLES'. "Snuffles? that's a cute name." The mole rat started to stand up on two feet but quickly winced over and whimpered in apparent pain.

"Oh, what's the matter Snuffles? Is your foot hurt?" She looked it over and saw two large claw marks in the back of it's hind leg that was causing the problem. "Let me see if I can help." She took out her medical kit and the bourbon she got from Trudy and gently cleaned the wound, finally wrapping it in a bandage. the alcohol stung but Snuffles could see that she was trying to help and stayed very still until she was finished.

"There you go, how does that feel?" Almost as if he understood, Snuffles tried to walk, and the limping started to fade away. The little mole rat panted at her again and wagged his tiny tail stub as if to say thank you.

"Your welcome! Glad I could help-"

"Delilah. You coming?" Six called out to her.

"Gotta go, bye bye." She gave a tiny wave to Snuffles and headed inside. At that moment, she decided that when she finally got to New Vegas, she wanted to have an animal companion just like Snuffles.

* * *

The inside of the 'Mess Hall' shack was relatively small, with only three tables and a bar, but with the small number of workers it seemed to suit everyone comfortably, even with the addition of Six, Delilah, and Vanessa. At the bar was a hand written menu (With many spelling errors) of what food they served. Basic combinations of whatever was available in the wasteland or scavenged from pre-war supplies. They stared at the menu for a while as they decided. Six had his eye on a particular dish of the 'Geko Noodle plait', while Delilah took a look at the 'Mutfruit and Geko stake salad.' The way they worded it made every bit sound heavenly, though the numerous spelling errors made them more cautious on their order. As they looked over the menu one more time, a brunette haired woman with a cheerful smile greeted them.

"Hey there newcomers, name's Jas. What'll it be today?" Six took the courtesy of placing the order for everyone.

"Good to meet you. Uh, were going to have a Gecko Noodle Plate, a Mutfruit and Gecko Salad, two Sunsets, and..." Six turned to Vanessa for her to order.

"Coyote Steak." She said.

"Sarsaparilla too!" Delilah added in.

"A Coyote Steak, Two Sunset Sarsaparillas." Six repeated. "And..."

"Whisky" Vanessa added in to finish. "A bottle." Six looked at her questioningly but continued.

"Uh, okay... And a bottle of whisky." He wanted to voice his slight concern to Vanessa, but decided that would just open up a can of worms if he did. Meanwhile Jas added up the total on a piece of paper.

"Alright, that'll come up to... 42 caps." She said finally. Six dug out their pooled funds and decided to use the NCR currency just so he could get rid of it. He handed her $120 which translated to 48 caps. She had a disappointed look on her face as she accepted them and gave him 6 caps in change. Her look made Six feel a bit guilty for doing that. They took their drinks and found a seat at the table closest to the jukebox. It was on the 'Mojave Music Radio' station, with the song 'It's A Sin' playing in the background. Six took a seat across from Delilah while Vanessa plopped down in the seat adjacent to both. Six felt his legs and back unwind. The sudden relaxation was almost painful to his muscles.

"* _Sigh*_ Good to get off our feet for a little bit." Delilah commented as she sat down as well, undoubtedly feeling the same sensation.

"Oh yeah." Six agreed. An awkward silence falls over the three of them. Six tries to think of something to say.

"So, what was with the mole rat outside?"

"His name's snuffles. He had a bad leg. Thought I should help the little guy out." She smiled.

"Hope you didn't waste too many supplies on that rodent." Vanessa scoffed at her. Delilah's smile wiped away and didn't answer. Instead she just looked down at the table.

"Hey, lighten up Vanessa. We don't need to worry about supplies yet." He turned to Delilah. "I think you're going to make a fine doctor one day, you know that? 'Dr. Delilah... Hey. I never got your last name did I?"

"It's Morgan." Delilah answered as her smile slowly returned. She knew he was just trying to lift her spirits. It was working, and her blushing showed it off.

"Dr. Delilah Morgan. Wasteland MD."

"So, you're going to be a doctor huh? Good for you. I mean that." Vanessa added in once more. Delilah nodded. "Don't see a whole lot of those these days. At least successful ones that aren't cons trying to scam you out of a cap. Now those I've seen a lot of."

"In the Capital Wasteland right? That's where you're from?" Delilah added again. She was patiently waiting to hear about back east ever since Goodsprings source.

"No. I was born here in Vegas, but I headed east when I was about 26."

"What made you want to go east?" Delilah asked. Vanessa paused to open her bottle of whiskey, took a good swig, and then sighed before she continued.

"I was looking for my dad. He left me with my uncle when my mom died and headed east when I was 5. I was confused why he didn't stay. So I left to follow his trail and ended up in D.C." She paused in thought once again.

"Did you find him?" Six asked.

"Sort of. A couple years later I tracked down this girl named Jessi who's mother married my dad 10 years beforehand, who directed me to his grave. I guess while he was in a bar in Rivet City, some assholes slipped some Jet in his drink to get him high so they could rob him. But instead, dad's heart gave out and he died."

"Oh god. That's so horrible!" Delilah added in.

"That's the wasteland." She stopped to take another sip of her whiskey again.

"What did you do after that?"

"What else was there to do? I went to the nearest bar and got drunk. But that's when my luck turned around." Both Six and Delilah were silent as they listened in."You ever heard of the Lone Wanderer?" They both shook their heads, to Vanessa's delight." Well then. So I was in Megaton when this kid passed through. His sister was kidnapped by slavers barely a minute after they left their vault to look for their missing dad. Must be a common thing that happens a lot, dads running off and all. Normally I would have ignored him but... To be honest, he looked really pathetic. And, he was kinda cute, so I agreed to help him out. Now that I think about it, you kind of remind me of him Six. Minus the cute part, and add in more pathetic." Vanessa ended with a coy smile.

"Hey now! You ain't seen nothing yet!" Six joked as he struck a model pose, as if a camera were in front of him. Vanessa just rolled her eyes and gave a slight smile.

"What was his name?" Delilah asked as she tried not to giggle at Six's antics.

"His name was James, like his father. So later, we found his sister Amanda in this slaver trading hellhole known as Paradise Falls and free her along with some other prisoners. Now THAT was a fun time!" She took another swig of her whiskey.

"What were they like?" Delilah asked. **  
**

"They were good people, always lending a helping hand to anyone who needed it. The ties that bound those two siblings together... You could feel it, and it seemed to extend to everything and everyone they touched." Vanessa's hand clutched her heart as she narrated.

"What happened to them?" A frown appeared on Vanessa's face when Delilah asked.

"We found his father, who was working with the Broth-... Um, a local group that were starting this giant water purifier that was suppose to give free clean water to everyone! It was a great cause but this militant group called the Enclave attacked and killed James' dad in the process. We got out with a few of the scientists and regrouped at the Citadel. After that, we gathered everyone up and took it back from them. They had good gear so it was a tough fight. As a matter of fact, that's where I got these boots from. "Vanessa paused and proceeded to put her foot on the table. "Swiped them off a dead officer that almost killed James." She showed them the black leather boots that were still in good condition after the miles she put in them. Even the 'E' stamp on the side of the heel was still clearly visible.

"Was he able to start the purifier and give everyone clean water?"

"He did in fact. Almost died from a massive dose of radiation but he did it! Everyone in the Capital had access to clean water. But, his sister Amanda, was killed in the firefight. Lost some good people that day... After the battle, James just wasn't the same. And who could blame him? He lost his father to the enclave, and watched his sister die in his arms."

"What happened to him afterwards."

"Dunno. Almost a year later he just disappeared. Left one morning to go on a scouting mission and never came back. That's when they started calling him the 'Lone Wanderer'. After he vanished I traveled a bit north, and even made it up to Massachusetts for a bit before heading back west. Lotta time to think, you know? Process all those good and bad memories."

"So, how come you're so interested in getting to Vegas then?" Six asked after a second. He was hoping Vanessa was willing to open up about that more now that she shared her story and knew theirs.

"You know, I don't think I want to talk about that yet." Vanessa said to his disappointment. They sat there and thought about that for a good moment. Just then, the Foreman Chomps stepped in.

"Just coming by to see how you all are doing. Where ya headed anyways?"

"New Vegas. Just some business to take care of there." Six answered. He was down for some small talk, but figured he'd better keep their business to themselves. Just in case. Chomps seemed to take the hint.

"Well if you wanna get to New Vegas you're better off heading east of Primm through a notch in the mountain called Primm Pass, and then looping north. It's a heck of a lot safer."

"Primm Pass? That's good to know. May save us a day." Six made a small note in his Pip-boy map. A little square with a name on it appeared on the legend.

"Yep. Though I heard it doesn't get used much anymore so you'll want to keep your eyes out for any critters that may have moved in. You know how that goes." Chomps chuckled.

"Duly noted. Speaking of critters, where did the Deathclaws in the quarry come from?"

"They moved into the quarry not long after the Powder Gangers came through and made off with most of our dynamite. We had to shut the quarry down while we waited for the NCR to get us some more blasting sticks, but now with the Deathclaws there, our operation's slowed down to a screeching halt."

"The NCR never arrived yet?"

"Nope. The NCR's a no-show and my men and I have got nothing to do but sit on our asses all day. It's damn frustrating."

"Did you see them often before the Quarry shut down?" Delilah pitched in with full interest. Chomps just shrugged.

"We'd see them occasionally, but they didn't seem too keen on getting too close to the quarry. Not sure if it was all the noise, or all the workers. I just can't believe that an entire pack moved into the quarry. I thought that kind of bad luck only happened in New Vegas." Just then, Jas came by and served them their meals. Six's noodles were steaming with the meats evenly topped with the sauce lightly glazed over the entire meal. One could say it almost resembled spaghetti in the pre-war days. Delilah's dish was much plainer, but evenly laid out that it was in the shape of a sun.

"Alright I better get back on it. I'll leave you two to your meals." Chomps got up from the chair, which creaked back into it's original shape.

"Thanks for the talk Chomps." Said Six. Delilah gave her usual silent cheerful wave. Their food looked so appetizing that they could hardly wait to start. Six took a large bite, and was soon met with a very intense spicy tang. He had to wash it down with the Sarsaparilla.

"After a few bites they noticed someone was missing.

"Where'd Vanessa run off to?" Delilah asked as she looked at the now empty seat. Six looked around and spotted her red hair at the end of the bar, drinking her whiskey in shots and eating her steak alone. He pointed her out to Delilah.

"You know. I get a funny feeling from her." Six commented. He kept his voice lower to not attract too much attention.

"Like what?" Delilah asked pausing from her meal. Her fork was still in hand with a full helping of crunchy mutfruit.

"I can understand her not being comfortable taking about stuff but... It's different. It feels like she's hiding something. Know what I mean?"

"Kind of. She does keep to herself alot. Should we be worried?"

"Honestly, I don't think so. She seems more, sad than suspicious. Like she's got a big weight on her shoulders. Did she ever tell you anything before we set out?" Six peeked over at Vanessa, who didn't seem to notice him, or less likely even cared to notice.

"Not much. Just that she's had some tired muscles and asked me about remedies. I told her small doses of stimpaks and Med-X can ease that kind of stuff. But that's a common ailment so I didn't suspect anything."

"Well maybe she'll come around when we get closer to New Vegas. If it becomes a problem we'll deal with it then." Six finished and went back to his meal. He made sure to take smaller bites this time. Delilah looked back down to her food, and slowly continued. She hoped nothing serious would come up. She only knew Vanessa for a few days before Six came into the picture but already was in good standings with her. Even though she didn't talk much about herself.

* * *

The small detour north turned out to be for nothing as far as finding a faster way to New Vegas. But information and a full belly was hardly anything to complain about. Six decided to leave the 6 caps for Jas as a tip. Their next Destination was Primm, a small settlement to the south, where hopefully they could cut through the pass.

They walked along the train tracks that ran beside the I-15 road. the tracks seemed to be in better conditions, or at least used for a while after the war. Most likely to haul the quarry rocks until Sloan started having their Deathclaw trouble. Delilah was balancing herself on one of the tracks out of boredom. Her boots clanked against the metal as she was able to keep good pace with the rest of the group. Even Vanessa decided to try for a few paces, although she was not nearly as nimble. Six stayed in the middle of the tracks ahead of the girls, smiling in amusement every once in a while when they would giggle at each others balancing acts.

As they progressed back down south they once again arrived at the grizzly scene at the ambushed caravan. The smell of death still hung in the air which seemed very still in itself. There were no more sounds giggling or balancing on the rails at that point. They didn't speak again until they were several miles further south when they came upon something familiar.

"Hold up." Six raised his hand in a signal. A few yards ahead, there seemed to be a man that was tinkering with a pre-war motorcycle. Six immediately recognized his as the rider that escaped the Deathclaws earlier that day.

"What's the plan?" Vanessa asked already ready for action.

"Well, he looks a bit preoccupied. Just keep it cool, but be ready for anything. The girls nodded their heads in agreement. As they got closer they started to hear him talk to the inanimate object.

"Why aint you... Ah forget it!" The man started mumbling in frustration. Six figured it was probably better to say something than just 'appear' in front of him in surprise. He cleared his throat to get his attention.

"Uh, excuse me." He said to the man calmly.

"Huh! Oh, hey there, what can I do you for?" The man said as he popped his head up from what he was doing. He was wearing what appeared to be a pre-war bullet proof vest over a tank top. His scuffed up blue jeans were held on by a large belt buckle with an image of a prewar extinct animal on it. Finally he wore a headset underneath a red bandanna and a worn baseball cap that was turned backwards.

"What's the problem?" Six continued.

"Ah it's just a little bike trouble. no biggie." The man said in a calm manner. He didn't seem to be nervous at all around the newcomers.

"Any idea why? Maybe I can help." Six asked out of his usual good samaritan impulse. Even Six knew it was beginning to become almost to a fault. The rest of the group seemed to stand back and let him 'do what he does best'.

"I don't know. The rear stabilizer's kinda loose, but that shouldn't cause any real problems." He jiggled the part in example. "Um... Wait, is that thing suppose to be, no no." He said to himself. Finally he stood up in defeat. "Ugh. God knows. Could be anything." Meanwhile Six gave the motorcycle a look over. He turned the key enough to look at the gauges for any clues. It was odd how easy pre-war tech seemed to him. Finally he located the problem.

"Well I found the problem."

"What, really? What is it? Something break?"

"Worse." Six shook his head.

"Missing."

"Close." Six said with certainty before answering. " I hate to say it, Looks like you're out of gas." He turned the key back to where it was to not waste the battery.

"Oh, magic. Well that's easy. I guess we gotta find a gas station then don't we."

"Alright. wait... We?" Six paused as Karma from his antics swung around and kicked him.

"Yeah, we. Y'know like, you and me, maybe those fine girls you got over there. You dig?" He gave a sideways wink at the girls, who just shrugged him off.

"Well... Alright I'll help you out if I can... I guess" Six agreed a bit defeated.

"Hey I knew I could count on you pal! So uh, Where we headed?"

"Primm, but..."

"Okay! lead the way. Lemme just grab some of my gear, just in case." The new guy grabbed a sack, that he slung over his shoulder. Meanwhile Six went to tell the girls the plan.

"Are you serious?" Vanessa asked, a bit concerned.

"What? He seems sincere enough. He just needs a bit of help."

"But did you talk to him that much? What if he's a murderer, or a chem runner?"

"You're just being silly. He just had a bit of bike trouble and were helping him out. What's wrong with that?"

"What's wrong is that I've seen caravaneers get their throats slit by picking up hitchhikers before."

"Isn't that overreacting a bit?" Delilah added in. "We can't ignore people if they need help. That's what makes us human."

"I've seen enough 'human qualities' to know this is a bad idea." She said bluntly.

"Okay, we watch him then." Six finished. He walked back up to the man after they wre finished.

"Good to go?" Six asked.

"Lead the way. " The man answered happily. They set out on the road again to 'hopefully' get to Primm before nightfall. Six checked the time on his Pip-boy: 5:47PM. He figured they should just make it in time.

"So... I saw your escape from the Deathclaws. Pretty tricky stuff." Six said as they set off.

"Yeah man, Almost got raped by those giant lizards though. Had to spend three days hiding in some tower till they got bored and wandered off." The man shuddered as he thought back to then.

"So uh, who are you anyway?"

"The name's Niner. I'm kind of a drifter you know?"

"What made you come out here in the Mojave?"

"What else? On my way to Vegas."

"That's convenient, were on our way there ourselves."

"Really? well aint that a coinkidinks. Anyway, enough about me. whadda they call you?" Niner asked as he pointed with both hands very casually.

"They just call me Six."

"Six. Yeah, I like it! So uh. How'd you get lucky enough to get these two girls to follow ya?" It didn't really stand out to Six that he was the only male in the group up to that point until Niner mentioned it.

It's... Not like that. Just a couple friends.

"Just friends huh?.. You're not, you know... Confirmed Bachelor, are you?"

"What? No. I prefer the women. But they're my friends, who just happen to be girls."

"Right then. Ok Six, back to business, what're we gonna do about my bike?" Six thought for a minute. Technically, gasoline hasn't been manufactured for over 200 years, and any leftover is going to be worthless. An alternative fuel source was the best answer.

"Well I'm sure we can check out Primm and see if they have anything that will work in your bike."

"Hey uh, Nine guy." Vanessa interrupted. "Looks like Geckos are taking a liking to your bike" She nudged towards the motorcycle a few yards back. Several geckos had started skulking and chewing on the bike a couple minutes after they walked off.

"I can do it!." Delilah exclaimed. She hadn't gotten an opportunity to fire her new gun yet and was already eager to try it out. She took aim at one of the Geckos, fired once, and missed, fired twice, and hit one in the leg. She realigned her shot and fired again, but instead of hitting the Gecko, she clipped the top of the motorcycle gas tank. The remaining fumes in the tank burst into flames, the shrapnel took care of the gecko problem, but brought on another one. Delilah gasped in horror over what she had done.

"Well... You got 'em." Vanessa said sarcastically, barely able to hold it together before she burst out into laughter. Delilah turned beet red in embarrassment with both hands were over her mouth in a state of shock.

"What the hell man! Wh- Ah!" Niner rushed forward, hands on his head in disbelief.

"I... Am... So... Sorry, about your bike!" Delilah begged for forgiveness. Niner switched glances at her, then to his bike, and back again.

"Uh, look don't get yourself worked up. it was an accident, okay." He said in a depressed voice. Delilah was stunned over how well Niner took it. "I just need something to take the edge off." He pulled out what looked like a sarsaparilla bottle with tubes that went in and out of the top with tin foil wrapped over it.

"What is that?" Six asked suspiciously.

It's steady man. Why, you after a hit?

"I'll pass if that's alright." Niner offered it out to the others. They silently and respectfully declined.

"Alright, your loss." He took a long inhale from a mouthpiece that lead out of the bottle. He then let out a long drag as vapor rolled out of his mouth. The smell of unknown chemicals could be smelled by everyone. Vanessa gave Six an 'I told you so' glance. Six just brushed it off. He didn't want to judge him too harshly this early on.

"Ah yeah see. that's the stuff." Niner said after a minute, a smile appeared on his face before he put the steady back into his pack, and continue the conversation. "Y'know what man, it was a shitty bike. Always letting me down. I don't need it. You see me and you, we're going to make it to Vegas, even if we gotta walk there, am I right?" Six thought about that for a second. He obviously was a chem user but seeing has how well he took the loss of his bike, Six actually felt a little relieved about it.

"Alright, that sounds like a deal." Six agreed, extending his hand which Niner accepted.

Alright, hey were going to be the best of pals, I can already tell. Okay lets make our way to Primm then." Six couldn't help but smile. There was something about Niner that gave him mixed feelings. His chem use seemed a bit off putting, but at the same time, he seemed like a reasonable guy. Six would keep an eye on him as usual, but he felt there wasn't too much to worry about.

They continue their journey south. In the distance they could see the silhouette of Primm. Six hung back until he was at pace with Delilah who was still hugging her arms, and was in tears at this point from embarrassment.

"Hey." He started in a calm voice. "Wanna talk about what that was all about earlier?" Delilah shook her head.

"* _Sigh*_ It's nothing Six... I... I don't want to talk about it. Lets just drop it, okay?" She said weakly, not wanting to meet his eyes.

"Alright. but if there's a problem, you can tell me. And I'll listen." He gave her a light pat on the shoulder and scooted back up to where he was to give her the space she needed.

* * *

They finally reached Primm as the sun started to fall. The town was located on the left side of an overpass. To the right and to their surprise, were several tents set up. Upon further inspection they looked like Military tents. Six could see the familiar white flag with a two headed bear flying over the campsite. ' _The NCR is here. but why?'_ Six thought to himself. A trooper in khaki fatigues and a pith helmet could be seen standing guard at the beginning of the road to the overpass and held up a hand for them to stop as they approached. Six told his group to hang back while he talked to the guard.

"Hey, where the hell do you think you're going? Primm is off limits." The guard said in a stern militaristic voice.

"What do you mean off limits? What's going on?" Six returned cautiously.

"Some convicts from the prison up the road have taken over the town. everyone inside is either dead, or in hiding. What's more, there are two tribes of raiders causing trouble in this area as well. You'd be safer heading back up to Goodsprings." That made Six frustrated.

"Shouldn't you be protecting the town or something? Or did command tell you to occupy the wrong side of the overpass?" Six's comment seemed to give a rise in the guard. Nevertheless he still continued, ignoring the insult.

"We'd love to, but they don't fall under NCR jurisdiction. Even if they did we're in no shape to protect them."

"Why the hell can't you protect them? I thought you were an army!" At this point Six was becoming disturbed.

"We don't have the equipment to take out the convicts, and even if we did we need some extra hands for backup."

"So you're just going to sit there until the civilians starve to death?" This seemed to change the guards attitude. He gave a quick glance to his flanks, then leaned forward. Six followed suit.

"Look buddy, I would like nothing more than to help those poor souls out." The trooper started in a low tone. "But if we don't have the troops, then any attack is going to be useless. And we'd have even more dead troopers to deal with On Top of civilian casualties." Right then, Six's urge to help the innocent seeped out again.

"Alright then. I volunteer." The Trooper blinked.

"You what?"

"I volunteer. And if I can convince my group, then you'll have yourself four capable people including a good marksman, and a medic. How's that sound?" The guard thought for a second. Probably not sure if Six was brave, or stupid. More than likely it was the latter.

"Alright civilian. It's your ass. Don't say you weren't warned. Come back in the morning and talk to Lieutenant Hayes. He'll be in a tent down the road. Just stay on the west side of the overpass if you don't want to get shot."

"Thanks for your help. I'll be back tomorrow." He turned and left to give the group the news. Wondering how they'll take it.

"Crazy Wastelander." The guard mumbled to himself.

* * *

 **Authors Notes:**

 **Mishaxhi: for their Permission on Niner. Great mod, wonderful voice acting. Definitely one to check out and Endorse if you can!**

 **newvegas/mods/48002/?**

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter! As this is a Redux, I have the next written out and wanted to combine the chapters but it would have been too long. So awkwardly I have this short one here for the month. Sorry for the delay! Like usual, like, share, review. if you have any questions or comments feel free to message me. See you all next Chapter!**


	5. Guns and Primroses

"That sounds awesome! I'm in!" Niner said after he heard the news. Six had basically told them he only volunteered himself but anyone can join in.

"Great! anyone else want to volunteer?" Vanessa raised her hands immediately, Delilah did so slowly after a second, not wanting to be the only one not up to the task.

"Alright, that settles it. So how about we head in around 7:00 AM. That still should give us plenty of time to sleep." The plan seemed perfectly sound to everyone.

About an hour later the group had set up camp a few yards south of where the NCR were stationed. Six had his small blue tent set up that could fit two people, comfortably. Niner had a prewar army dog tent that was a similar size but had an odor that could only be described as something resembling rotting onions. With that in mind, Six decided to let the girls use his, while he would bunk up with Niner. Although, the freezing night air seemed rather tempting.

Meanwhile Vanessa worked on the camp fire. Using a passing tumbleweed as kindling, it took little effort to get a good size flame going. Delilah had started to take inventory of their supplies, and accommodate for the newcomer in the group. Next was the meal which consisted of pre-war Pork and Beans along with chopped up chunks of Salisbury steak. It was enough to give everyone one decent size bowl of food. Once that was done and the meals were served, everyone could relax for the night. Everyone sat around the campfire for a while as they shared their stories with the newcomer. Afterwards, it was Niner's turn.

"So tell us Niner, where are you from?" Six started.

"Ok. If you're really interested I guess." Niner pulled out two cigarettes out of a pack in his coat pocket. He offered one to Six, then Delilah who both declined. Vanessa took one and lit it with her own lighter. The smell of the tobacco made Six's stomach turn. "I'm from California. Haven't been there in years though."

"Do you still have any friends or family there?" Six asked as he tried his best to hide his gag reflex.

"Most of my friends became soldiers. I didn't have too much in the way of family since I never knew my parents real well. For the most part it was just me and my brother."

"Wanna tell me about your brother?"

He left to become a soldier when we were... fuck, I dunno. Thirteen maybe?"

"Do you still hear from him at all?"

"He's dead man." He said bluntly."

"Oh, I'm sorry..."

"Yeah, it sucks. After that, I left town. Hit the streets. y'know. never looked back."

"How did you survive?"

"I got street smarts man. I was fine out there. I guess stealing shit mostly. I had a knack for it y'know. got me into a gang. They were my family, taught me how to fight, how to survive."

"So then why are you out here instead of back there?" Niner chuckled before he answered the obvious.

"Vegas man! And also it just seemed time to move on, you know? Well that's about it for me." He put out his cigarette butt in the fire. A tiny fireball consumed it in a fraction of a second, to Six's relief.

By the time everything was said and done, it was nearly 11:00PM according to Six's pip-boy. They piled into their tents for the night. The thoughts of what awaited the next day loomed over everyone's head. Six had a wool blanket that came with the leather backpack from Trudy as well that kept him warm enough when he added his duster. Using the pip-boy as a light source, Six decided to start recording his thoughts in his journal in case he needed to remember anything, and to give him something to do while he waited for sleep to take him over. He could hear the faint sound of the girls talking next door. Listening further it sounds like only Delilah was talking though. ' _Maybe she talked Vanessa to sleep'_ , Six joked to himself. **  
**

"Ah man, were really going to kick some ass tomorrow. Those raiders ain't gonna see us coming, right Six?... Hey Six?" Six had only heard about half of what Niner was saying between his notes, and trying to relax. He put the book and his pencil down to answer back.

"You know it. But we don't want to go in without a plan."

"Don't worry about it Six. We've got this in the bag already. Alright, G'night. I'll see you mañana."

It took a couple more hours before Six was on the verge of falling asleep, when he heard a faint muffled noise from Niner, and the unmistakable odor it brought. _'Damn beans! Aother restless night... great.'_ He thought to himself. **  
**

* * *

In the morning they ate a quick breakfast of scrambled Gecko eggs, that Delilah and Vanessa had scavenged from a nearby nest, mixed in with the leftovers of the previous night's dinner. They hurried up to pack their gear and headed to the NCR encampment. Delilah was the only one in the group who had a spare set of clothes, sporting khaki cargo pants rather than her short-shorts, and a fresh tank-top. The rest were packed a bit more 'lightly'. Niner had fished out his 9mm sub-machine gun from his pack. By the looks of it, the gun was modified to be smaller, and resembled a pistol more than anything else, with the magazine located in the handle like a pistol rather than forward of the trigger. He called it an Uzi. **  
**

As they walked through the NCR encampment, they attracted glances from the soldiers as they passed by. Six would have liked to think they were in awe of them here to save the day, but in reality, he knew they probably just saw them as a bunch of clueless idiots on a suicide mission. For all Six knew, they probably were just that. The camp was smaller than Six would have expected. If the NCR really were spread out that thin, it showed, painfully. They passed by a couple soldiers at a table laughing and playing a card game Six didn't quite recognize There were NCR dollars and a couple bottlecaps they gambled with. He quickly asked them for directions to the Lieutenant's tent, they pointed him in the right direction and continued their game as if they were never interrupted.

The rest of the group waited outside as Six opened the tent flap. He was met with two soldiers in the middle of a discussion, only to stop mid-sentence to look up at him.

"Uh, hi. I'm looking for Lieutenant Hayes." He said not knowing what to expect after interrupting them.

"You found him" The man in an olive beret on the right said as he gave a salute. "Lieutenant. Hayes of the New California Republic Army, 5th Battalion, 1st Company. What's your business here civilian?" Six tried to act as professional as possible.

"Sir, I was told by one of your guards to talk to you about what exactly you guys are doing here."

"That's confidential information civilian!" The second soldier snapped at him. Her hand was already on her pistol ready to draw it.

"At ease Sergeant. It's alright." The sergeant relaxed her grip, though she still gave him a hard stare.

"We were sent out here to hold back the tide of convicts from the correctional facility. As you can probably tell, we aren't doing the kind of job we could be doing."

"Then what exactly is the problem with your mission?"

"The mission isn't a problem. The problem is with supplies. The convicts are better armed and organized than our intel initially suggested. I've been trying to get some reinforcements here, maybe some guns with some firepower. But... Shit, things are just going slow."

"Well you're in luck, I and my three other companions would like to volunteer our services."

"Volunteer? You're serious? Well I'll be... Normally I'd say you're crazy. I still would, but were in such desperate need at this point that I'll take all the help I can get."

"Alright. So what information do you have on the convicts?"

"Not much. They've taken to calling themselves powder gangers. Mostly because they've taken to using the explosives meant to clear boulders as weapons. They got organized faster than I would have thought. Or most of them at least. Thankfully the small group in town seem to have split off from the main force. So they aren't getting anything in the way of support."

"Got any clue on the numbers?"

"Were not sure. At this point it can be anywhere between fifteen and twenty." The sergeant stepped forward.

"Sir, with respect, I really must protest your decision. These are not trained soldiers. We need someone out there who knows what they're doing." The Sergeant urged Hayes. The Lieutenant thought for a second on how to deal with that situation.

"Sergeant Florence, That's an excellent idea. You can accompany them as well." He said finally. The Seargent's eyes widened with shock.

"But sir I... That's not..."

"Is there a problem Sergeant?"

" _*sigh*_ No sir."

"Very good. Grab your gear and move out with them."

"Yes sir!" Florence saluted and headed out of the tent, giving Six a very harsh glare as she passed. By the time Six left the tent, Florence had already gotten her rifle and bandolier set to go. Six had wondered why she was assigned to him even though Hayes clearly stated they were short on troops.

"Alright Florence, Shall we move out then?" Six said as pleasant as he could.

"That's Sergeant Florence to you!" She snapped back. She raised her hand for him to stop and leans in to make sure he heard. That scared Six more than the outburst, although he tried to hide it. "Let me make one thing abundantly clear to you, Wastelander. You will not be giving me orders as you do not outrank me, and you will listen and do what I say without question if you want to make it through this alive. I am to 'escort' you to your objectives and that is all. You get me?"

"Yeah. I get you. And so were on the same page, I have military training as well, so you can quit with the badassery. We'll keep it simple, If you watch my back, then I'll watch yours." The look on Florence's face showed she wanted to take a slug at him, but instead she started in a calmer tone.

"What army were you with? What rank?"

"I was with the Oregon Territory Reserves, and I can't remember my rank exactly. I think something like corporal."

"Militia huh? Can't have everything, can we?" She walked off towards the overpass at her marching pace. Six hastened to fall in line. Now he understood why the Lieutenant could 'spare' her.

The rest of the group were waiting by a wrecked building next to the overpass which, like the building, seemed to have been partially blown to bits with mangled rebar sticking out of the damaged chunks. The remaining pieces of the bridge had boards set across it to make it passable. Although it still looked as though it could crumble at any minute.

"Looks like Six's got a friend with him." Niner pointed out as Six came by along with the soldier. She had a rugged face and looked like she's seen more battles than all of them combined.

"Everyone, this is Sergeant Florence. She's going to be helping us take out the convicts." Everyone greeted her, but she didn't return their welcome. Instead, she stood at attention, seeming miserable with the whole agenda at this point.

"Alright then. Everyone set?" Six asked. the group gave their usual nods. Niner saluted, probably to the annoyance of Florence.

"Nice gun. Colt Rangemaster is it?" Vanessa asked Florence as they moved out. Her scowl didn't lessen.

"Support units get the worn out prewar hardware. It's a piece of shit."

"Hmm." Vanessa mused. Obviously Florence wasn't the conversation type. Soon they approached the bridge, but were stopped when Vanessa halted the rest of the group.

"Mines on the bridge!" She stated as she noticed several mounds of debris on the eastern side of the bridge.

"How can you tell?" Six asked.

"See the mounds of dirt and trash lined across the bridge? They did it very hastily but I've seen enough of them that I know there's probably frag mines under them.

"Do you know how to disarm them?"

"If those are like the standard issue prewar military type, then there is a recessed button on the side of the fuse that will deactivate it. Although you have to be quick, because there's also a motion sensor that will detonate it if you don't have a light step."

"Awesome! Glad to know someone has a handle on this, so just let us know when it's safe to cross." Six said. Vanessa paused before she squinted her eyes at him.

"I'm not going."

"What? I thought you said you knew how to disarm them."

"Yeah, I know how, doesn't mean I've ever done it successfully." She held up both her hands and showed him the back of them. "Had a run in with a plasma mine before. Would've taken both my arms off if it wasn't a faulty one." He could see singe scars on both hands and three fingernails permanently missing on her left hand.

"Okay, fair point. Uh... Sergeant, do you have any experience with mines?"

"Hey, ordinance isn't my field, and the next bomb squad is about a days march from here. I thought you guys were experts." Florence looked at him with disgust. Six then turned to Niner.

"I don't. I've never had experience with explosives before."He said. Six didn't even ask Delilah since he knew she wouldn't have had experience with mines. Finally, he just sighed.

"What do I have to do?" He responded with utter defeat in his voice.

"Wait, I can try it! I'm very light on my feet!" Delilah called out before Vanessa could start.

"It's fine Delilah, I can manage." Six shut her down.

"No, really, let me-"

"I don't want you risking yourself on something like this. Besides, I'll need your medical expertise if something goes south." That was enough to convince Delilah to leave it at that. He turned to Vanessa to continue her instructions.

"Don't worry, it's very simple. You just have to push the red button on top before it blows up! and with as little vibration as you can make. That'll set it off too." Six's eyes strained at her for how ridiculously simple she made it sound. "Just try it. But we'd better stay behind in case you fail. Okay?" She gave a phony smile at him.

"Thanks...That helps a lot." Six said sarcastically. He took a few deep breaths, stared at the bridge for a few seconds, and wiggled his fingers to test their reflexes. After a few seconds, he started his way onto the bridge, very carefully. _'Pff. Push the damn button on top. Who designed these things?'_ He thought to himself.

"Six!" He heard Delilah's voice call to him. He slowly turned to face her being careful of his movement.

"I believe in you." She said.

"Don't worry. I've got this." He returned the gesture. ' _I hope to god I got thi_ s' He said in his head. He wouldn't dare let her hear his doubt. Those last four words from her seemed to give him new confidence though. He took another deep breath and continued.

He approached the first mine that sat there peacefully, just waiting for someone to get too close. As Six took another step and was almost in reach, the mine started to emit a beeping noise. Everyone held their breath as he leaps for the button. The mine went silent. Six let out a long sigh of relief. The next mine was easy to disarm, he even got to unearthing most the rubble before the sensor could pick him up. but Six cut it close as the last one started beeping as he was disarming the third. Thankfully his quick reflexes served him well. It was safe for them to cross over now.

"Seriously, who the Hell designed these? Its completely redundant!" Six let his frustration out once all the mines were secured. The rest of the group quickly crossed the bridge while Vanessa wasted no time to pick up the mines and stuffed them in her pack for later use.

Sergeant Florence took the lead and checked both flanks before returning back to the group. Most still had their weapons holstered or lazily being carried. Their lack of discipline frustrated her even more.

"Alright. Were going to split up into two groups. Who has medical experience?" Florence commanded before the group. Delilah's hand shot up.

"Alright Miss Pigtails, you're with Red checking the north perimeter." Florence said.

"Hehe, 'Pigtails'." Niner inadvertently interrupted as he chuckled at the new nickname. Florence shot him a glare.

"You're with them too Chemboy." She said. Niner returned a look of ridicule.

"The mailman and I will cover the south perimeter." She turned to Six. "Do you have any objections?"

"No ma'am." He returned without sarcasm.

"Good. We meet in front of the casino. Now get moving." The Sergeant ordered. **  
**

* * *

They spread out into their assigned groups. Niner and the girls moved along to the left as they searched for any survivors, or convicts. The area seemed unusually quiet, which made everyone on edge given the danger that could be lurking in any corner.

"Ugh. Goddamn. Where's everyone at? This is bullshit." Niner started to complain out of boredom.

"Hey, just be happy you're not getting shot at. You've got a point though. It's a bit odd we haven't seen any-" Vanessa started before being interrupted by Delilah.

"Sshh!" Delilah hushed them as she faintly heard a noise.

"You hear that?" Vanessa took pause to listen for a minute.

"Uh... No?" Vanessa answered back. Niner tried hard to listen as well, but couldn't hear anything either.

"It sounds like, a whimper." Delilah paused to try and pinpoint the noise.

"Over there." She whispered as she pointed behind the garage building by the casino. She peered around the corner, and was met face to face with two big brown eyes. It was a small dog. No, a puppy. It was white with large black spots that covered it's back and face. Most likely a Husky breed, the little puppy was licking its paw which was red with blood. It was terrified when it saw Delilah but couldn't bring itself to run away.

"Hey girl. It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you. what's the matter with your leg?" She said in a very soothing voice. It seemed to help the little puppy become less frightened. Soon enough, she let Delilah pet her, then she started to examine her paw.

"Wait. how do you know it's a girl? Niner asked.

"A woman just knows." Vanessa answered for Delilah. Niner gave a shrug as a 'good enough' answer. Delilah pulled out her medical satchel and took out a gauze and some cotton pads. She went for another item only to find it missing.

"Where is it? I'm sure I had it right here! Wait..." Her eyes drifted from the bag to Vanessa almost accusingly.

"Vanessa, Where'd you put it?" She asked nicely.

"Put what? I don't know what you mean." Vanessa returned innocently. Delilah didn't change her glare.

"Alright fine." She sighed as she pulled out the bottle of bourbon from her pack. Delilah snatched it from her hand. Her eyes both said 'thank you' and cursed at her in one look.

"Hey, It was just a shot to get me through the night. I forgot to put it back alright?" Vanessa returned as she folded her arms. Delilah ignored her and immediately went to work.

* * *

Meanwhile, Six followed Florence through the residential area before swinging back to the storefronts. Most of them were burned out from the war and quickly swept room after room. On one of the top floors, Six found a few rounds in an ammo box that fit his rifle. Judging by the layout it looked as though someone had positioned themselves there as a sharpshooter. _'But who?'_ He thought. Up next was the Mojave Express building. This one was intact and seemed to be still used regularly, up till recently at least. They moved to the front of the building when Six spotted two dead bodies lying on the ground. Florence entered the building to clear it. Six hung back to examine the poor victims. Both had the blue Mojave express dusters on, similar to what he was wearing. They were executed judging by the shots to their heads. Six's stomach began to turn as he started to rub his own scar. He was very lucky to be alive.

He decides to search their bodies, not for loot, but to see if they had their delivery orders. Sure enough, they still did. Skimming them over he noticed something odd. They basically said the exact same thing as his aside from the contents of the packages, the first was of a pair of fuzzy dice, and the other, a chess piece, and they were numbered 4 of 6, and 5 of 6. He didn't say anything as he returned the papers to their proper owners.

"What The hell is this thing in here?" He heard Florence say from inside the office. He rushed in behind her, not sure what to expect.

* * *

"Hey Vanessa. Can I ask you something a bit, special?" Niner asked as they waited for Delilah to finish up bandaging the puppy.

"Alright, like what?" Vanessa returned in a more inquisitive tone.

"You're a good looking girl. Whats with the modest outfit? You don't have any skin showing."

"What's wrong with that?" She tilted her head questionably.

"Uh I don't know. Why don't you wear something more sexy? You don't need to hide it. Besides, it's like a permanent 90 degrees out here." Normally, a woman would have probably brush him off at that question, but Vanessa just gave him a sideways smile.

"It's not a good Idea to show off your femininity in this world nowadays. It's protection."

"From what?"

"You see, I've been across this whole wasteland. And I've seen alot of people who were raped, captured, or became a sex slave, like this girl I knew... Clover, in Paradise Falls." Her voice drifted out at the end as she looked down at the ground.

"Who's Clover? Some sex slave?"

"Not 'Some' sex slave, a friend. But for what it's worth, yes. I met her in DC. It's a long story."

"Ah, okay... So, uh... Do you have anyone you're seeing right now?" The words leaped out of Niner's mouth before he could think. Even Delilah caught wind of that question while she was finishing up with her patient. It was very entertaining for her to listen to.

"I'm single, most of the time. Nothing ever gets serious."

"So no boyfriend? Ok. Cool, cool."

"Boyfriend, girlfriend. Either way, it doesn't ever last longer than one night." Even Niner had to admit that was a bit sad.

"Nah. I think you deserve much better than a one night stand." He said. She humorously scoffed at him.

"Don't play with me." She looked to see Niner's face was dead serious. "Wait, you're serious?"

"That depends. You don't mind a little flirting do you" She blushed.

"I suppose not." She crossed her arms with a smile. But she spotted Delilah in the corner of her eye standing there, waiting for them to finish their conversation. A very coy smile was on her face.

"You guys ready to go check out the shacks?" Delilah asked.

* * *

"So... It's a, ball of scrap metal?" Florence said, trying to figure out why the sphere of twisted steel sitting on the front desk was so special. Six was behind the counter as he started to explain it, almost as if he was going to sell it to her.

"It's not scrap metal! It's an Eyebot! This is what the Enclave used to deliver broadcasts all over their controled areas back in the day! I've always wanted one of these for myself!" He exclaims speaking as if he couldn't get the words out fast enough.

"...Okay, I'll humor you. How does it work?" Florence asked. Only because he wouldn't have let it go otherwise.

"Well from what I understand, it uses a radio frequency from one of the Enclaves bases that give it directives to follow, what actions to take in certain situations including both combat and sometimes, even diplomacy, and I heard it can even be charged remotely. Although I think that last part might just be a rumor."

"Shoot then. Turn it on and see what it does."

"I... cant. It's broken. And it's missing some parts. But I can fix it! I would just need some time to tinker with it." Florence's curious face returned to her default annoyed face in an instant.

"Courier, we don't have time for this! The town's full of convicts and we still need to find out where the civilians are."

"Right, sorry. Just got caught up in the moment."

"Well don't. It can get us both killed. Now let's get out of here, this place is giving me the creeps." With that Florence moved through the door ahead of him, ready to get the day over with. Once outside they finally saw their first taste of action.

Turning the corner of the Mojave Express building was a man whistling a tune. He was dressed in the same blue/grey outfit as the Powder Gangers. He stopped dead in his tracks as he looked up to see two guns pointed at him. With barely a chance to think, he spun around and darted for the Hotel. Rather than shoot him, Six sprinted after the convict. Florence had a different idea but Six had blocked her shot before she could fire. The convict was down in a matter of seconds.

"Get off me, asshat!" The convict yelled from underneath Six. He climbed off but kept a tight hold on him.

"Where are the townspeople." Six said calmly but serious.

"I don't know nothin!" In a split second, the convict kicked Six him in the groin. He curled over in pain as the convict darted for freedom, but Florence was ready for him. She quickly ducked down and tripped him. She then pulled out a pair of handcuffs from her bandolier and locked them on the convict as she straddled him to keep him pinned.

"Hey trooper bitch, this is kinda turning me on! Especially after that Sheriff's wife- Gahh!" Florence shut him up by tightening one of the cuffs till his hand started to loose circulation.

"Oh I'm sorry, is that one too tight? Let me, Even it out!" She tightened the other one even more so now both started to cut into his wrist.

"Aw c'mon! Loosen these up will ya?" The convict pleaded with her, his attitude completely flipped from cocky, to cowardly.

"Sorry, I don't have the key." Florence lied. This was probably the most entertainment she was going to get today, so she was taking it for all it was worth. **  
**

* * *

"Locked. Just as well". Delilah tried the doorknob on the first shack to no avail.

"Stand back ladies, I'm gonna get tribal on this bitch." Niner said. He straightened himself up, and stretched his arms, ready to knock the door down. Vanessa stood back, but Delilah rushed forward to him.

"Hold on, we should say something first, not just start tearing up the place." He frowned but nodded as he was looking forward for some action finally. Delilah walked up to the door and gave it a friendly knock.

"Hello, Is anybody in there? Were not convicts. We just want to make sure everyone's alright... Hello?" Nobody answered. The shack remained silent as the streets.

"Tribal time." Niner smiled as he popped his knuckles. Delilah just gave him a serious stare.

"Not yet. Hey Vanessa, you wanna try that trick you did with the diving shack?" She dug in her satchel and pulled out a small box of her bobby pins and handed it to Vanessa.

"Sure, I'll give it a go." Vanessa said as she took a bobby pin out of the box that Delilah gave her. She handed it back but Delilah just gestured for her to keep it. Screwdriver in hand and bobby pin in the other, she fiddled with the lock until it bent to her will. The door was open in under five seconds. They entered the shack, only to see it as a single room building with the basic necessities But most of all, it was completely vacant. Back outside the shack they were met by the puppy that Delilah fixed up. She wagged her tail as she waited for them, or probably more specifically, Delilah.

"No. Go home to your family." She said. The puppy just tilted her head and sat there.

"Hey, I think she likes you! C'mon. let's keep her. I like dogs!" Niner pleads. Delilah looks at him with uncertainty. Having a pet with them, a puppy at that, would be alot of care and added baggage. Although she would love the company, and always wanted a dog for herself.

"Alright. But if we find the owner we have to give her back. Okay?"

"Yeah, I can do that!" Niner clapped his hands together in excitement. They continued tothe second shack. This one had a sign posted on the front which said 'SHERIFF'S OFFICE". Unlike the other shack however, this one was left wide open. Cautiously they moved forward, guns at the ready for anything unexpected and filed in one at a time. It was dark inside and they had to let their eyes adjust to it before they could venture in further. To the left on the wall was a bulletin board with three wanted posters pinned to it. Vanessa looked the faces over but could not recognize any of them. Behind her was the sheriff's desk with a terminal on it. Delilah went for that first only to find a bullet hole in the monitor. Niner found some 9mm ammunition on one of the shelves that belonged to the sheriff. He pocketed the box when the girls weren't looking. Next he opened the left door to the bedroom, only to be met with a very gruesome scene. The girls heard his reaction and went to investigate. What they saw was horrifying. In the blood soaked queen size bed were the bodies of who they could only assume to be the Sheriff and his wife, both of whom were still in their sleepwear. The sheriff's head had been blown clean off with a shotgun. His brain matter painted the back of the wall red and grey. On top of that, someone had written 'HA! FUCKERS' in the middle of the splatter. To his left, laid the body of his wife. Her nightgown had been torn open, her breasts were nearly black with bruises and scratches. The entirety of her nether regions were equally abused and violated. Lastly, was the killing wound which was her throat which had been slit wide open. The smell of death and semen was unbearable. There was no more reason for them to be in there, so they exited very quickly. Niner and Vanessa's faces were blank from what they had just seen. Delilah veered to the left of the shack to let all the contents of her stomach.

"You alright?" Niner asked once he knew she was finished. Delilah just gave a weak nod as she continued to look to the ground at the puddle of that morning's breakfast. "Not to be an asshole but, I thought you were a doctor. Shouldn't you be used to this kind of stuff? He asked curiously.

"Cuts and bullet holes I'm fine with, but torture and murder I'm not okay with!" She brushes herself off and stood up once more. There was anger in her eyes, rather than tears this time.

"Then let's give them a piece of our minds!" Vanessa checked her ammunition and started off at a determined pace alongside Niner. Delilah quickly followed suit, The puppy followed closely behind her, bringing up the rear. Delilah was going to have to remember to watch out for her since the little dog didn't seem to want to leave her side. Soon, voices could be heard around the corner of the Casino. The trio lined up behind the building wall. Niner cut ahead first, Vanessa was close behind, and Delilah brought up the rear. He peered out to get a closer look at the surrounding area by the casino and spotted three convicts that emerged from the hotel across the way. They saw Niner and greeted him with a couple bullets that hit the building, spewing concrete dust in his face as he jerked back to dodge the onslaught.

"How many?" Vanessa asked.

"Uh, three I think. One on the left, two by the wall."

"Got it. Cover me." She said as she darted out from cover at lightning speed. Niner covered Vanessa as she quickly dispatched the left convict. Niner took out one of the others along the wall. Meanwhile, the last convict had his sights on Niner but stopped dead in his tracks as he was shot in the back by none other than Six, who emerged out of the other corner. He waved at Niner to show himself as a friendly. Niner returned the wave and emerged from behind the opposing wall.

"Looks like Delilah found a new friend." Six pointed out to the puppy at her feet, who just sat there waging her tail as she tilted her head at Six, then to Delilah, who couldn't help but smile.

"Yes, and she's been quite the lady through all this excitement!... Hey, you know what? That's what I'm gonna call her, 'Lady'." She said as she scratched behind Lady's ears, who nearly collapsed from the loving attention she got. Meanwhile, Niner caught eye of the convict that Florence arrested.

"Looks like you got one too Six. Wouldn't exactly scratch him behind the ears though." He mockeds sarcastically.

"Yeah, learned that the hard way." He said as he rubbed his sore spot." He might be useful though. Did you find anyone else?"

"Nope, or at least nobody alive. *sigh* These powder gangers are some dirty bastards, I'm tellin' ya."

"What happened?" Six asked. The trio didn't say anything, but with the look on their faces, they almost didn't need to. Behind Six, the convict started to chuckle.

"Ha! so you found that limp dick Sheriff and his bitch huh? You should have seen the look on his face when we made him watch us take turns with her! After that-" Just then, everyone jumped as a bullet found its way into the middle of the convicts skull. They looked to see the bullet belonged to Vanessa. Her entire body glared at the lifeless convict, eyes as deadly as her rifle. Florence wasted no time as she stomped over to give her a piece of her mind.

"Red! What the hell do you think you're doing?! That prisoner could have been an asset to this whole operation! If you were a trooper I'd put you in those same cuffs right now!" Florence was inches from Vanessa's face, but she doesn't seem to care. She stood her ground without a flinch, or a blink.

"But I'm not, am I?... So you just do your job and leave me the hell alone." She pushed past Florence who was left with even more frustration and anger. After a couple seconds, Niner broke the silence.

"Hey guys. Let's check in here next." He pointed to the casino entrance they found themselves in front of. They lined up side by side, covering the flanks of the entrance. Testing the door first showed it was unlocked. With Niner at one door and Vanessa at the other, they quietly filed in. The room was completely dark, forcing Six to use the light from his pipboys to see. Suddenly the lights flickered on and they found themselves surrounded by men, women, and even some children with pistols and rifles pointed at the group.

"Drop your weapons!" Florence shouted out. _'Clearly she doesn't see the situation we're in.'_ Six thought to himself.

"Fuck that! You drop yours!" Someone shouted in response from the back of the mob. Just then, an old man with weathered dark skin and coveralls to match, recognized Florence's uniform. He held his weapon up and walked forward.

"Hold up everyone! They're with the NCR. Were safe for now." Those words made everyone relax more, as every gun could be heard un-cocking or switching the safety on. Afterwards, the old man stepped forward to greet them in the proper way.

"I don't know what it was brought you to Primm, youngsters, but you might want to rethink your plans. Town's gone to hell."

"Yeah, we found that out already." Niner said as he stepped forward. The old man gave him an unsure look and raised an eyebrow

"Who are you kids anyway?" He asked as he looked the group over. Six jumped in to explain.

"Were just travelers really. Heard the NCR needed some extra hands to secure the town so here we are." The old man gave a wrinkled smile in response.

"And glad for it. We've been stuck in here for a couple days now. Name's Johnson Nash. I run the local Mojave Express outpost here in town." He held his hand out to shake, which Six and Niner accepted.

"The name's Six. This here's Niner, Vanessa Delilah, and Sergeant Florence. Good to meet you."

" wouldn't by any chance have a medic with you at all, would you?" Delilah rushed forward before Six had a chance to acknowledge her. Lady followed, still at Delilah's heels.

"Got one right here! What's the problem?" She asked exited to finally help.

"Well we've got a few lacerations, a broken leg, but the worst are minor gunshot wounds."

"'Minor' gunshot wounds?" Delilah repeated puzzled. Nash nodded with a frown.

"It would seem so. _*sigh*_ Anyone that was in critical condition never made it the first night in here, sorry to say. They're all over there by the bar." He pointed to the far right corner of the casino where several people laid on mattresses and makeshift bedding. Delilah was quick to rush over to begin her work as Nash turned back to the rest of the group. "It's a blessing you showed up. I'd have almost lost hope."

"Were happy to help any way we can." Six said. "Personally, I'm glad to have found you, I'm actually a courier with the Mojave Express."

"Well, I don't got any work right now, sorry to say." Nash gave a sarcastic laugh.

"It's not work I'm looking for actually. You see, I lost a package I was supposed to deliver. I was wondering if you could give me any more information on it."

"I'll tell you whatever I can. Do you have a delivery order you can show me?"

"Sure do." Six pulled the papers out of his satchel and showed them to Nash. "What can you tell me about this job?" The old man grabbed a pair of half-moon shaped reading glasses out of his coverall pocket and took a moment to read over the delivery order. He frowned before looking back to Six.

"Oh, so you're talking about one of 'Them' packages. That job had strange written all over it. But we couldn't turn down the caps." Six felt a shudder run down his spine at those words as Nash handed the papers back to him.

"What was strange about it?"

"A better question is what wasn't strange? To start with, it was a robot that set it up! Came rolling in with a picture of a cowboy on a screen where its face should be. Had me send a request to the Express office in Hub, for six couriers to be hired. Each one to carry... Bric-a-brac, seemed to me. Playing cards, dice, chess pieces, trinkets like that. The order forms came along with a bunch of letters and numbers, like some kind of code or something! Don't ask me what that was about, 'cause I never seen anything like it. * _Sigh_ * Anyways, you must've been Courier 6, then? The Poker Chip right?" Six nodded, letting him continue. "Anyway, Last word I had from the office, it looked like payment had been received for the other five jobs. Guess it was just your chip that didn't make it. It's interesting though..." Nash's eyes trailed off for a second as he lost himself in thought. Meanwhile, Six was waiting for him to continue in utter suspense.

"What was interesting?" He beckoned after a few seconds. Nash regained eye contact from his thoughts and continued on.

"Well, The first deadbeat we hired to do the job canceled. Hope a storm from the Divide skins him alive! * _Sigh_ * Well, that's where you came in.

"He canceled?"

 _"_ Yeah, got this look when he saw you next down on the Courier list. His expression turned right around, asked me if your name was for real. I said, sure as lack of rain, you were still kicking. Then he turned down the job, just like that. I asked if he was sure, it was good money _after all. '_ No, let * _emph*_ Courier Six carry the package,' that's what he said - let the Mojave sort you out or something. Then he just up and walked out." Six was in awe to hear another clue about his past. He began to hope that if he were to find him it would help bring his life back together. But at the same time, something didn't seem right. The thought of that mystery man knotted him up inside in a way he couldn't explain. It gave him the chills.

"Do you know who he was? Where he went?" He asked eagerly, hoping for any shred of enlightenment. Nash just shrugged.

"No idea. Sounds like you two had a history for him to act like that. And turn down the money, too. Hope he didn't see any trouble in that package of yours. Maybe he thought your name was bad luck. Not for me to say."

"That's another thing I was wondering if you can help me out with. Some men stole my package. It was A man in a checkered suit and some thugs. Did they pass this way? They also shot me in the head, and I lost alot of my memory. I don't even remember my name at this point. You said you had my name was on the list right?"

"Hold on there youngster, one question at a time" Nash held up his hands, trying to process what Six was asking as fast as he could.

"I'm sorry, I've... just had a long week." Six apologized, a bit embarrassed for rambling on like a lost child.

"I can tell that much. Now let's see..." Nash thought to himself for a second. "Well, now that you mention it, a few nights back one of the townies was out scavenging for supplies. He said he saw a fella with a daisy suit come through with some of them Great Khan misfits. They was talking about a chip."

"That's the guy! I need to know the best way to get to them."

"Well for that your best bet is going to be talking to Deputy Beagle. Since they came to town he was keeping a good bit of notes on them, and he was slinking around Bison Steve when your pretty-boy friend came through. He may have heard where they were going."

"Excellent! So where can I find the deputy?"

"That's the kicker, those gangsters caught him the other day and are holding him in the Bison Steve. Sent out a ransom note not long after. Now don't get me wrong, but that boy was 'bout as useful as tits on a radscorpion. Only qualification he ever had was to be brother to the wife of the sheriff. Still, I supose he don't deserve what's befell him. We would've considered paying the ransom, if we'd had caps to spare." Six's heart sunk. ' _Looks like I'm going to have to save a damsel now. or the closest thing to one'_ he thought to himself. "And as for your name, I'd be more than willing to search through my paperwork for you. but you're gonna have to take care of those gangsters first before I can get over there."

"Okay. I guess it's the hotel for me next." Six wasted no time. He set his backpack and duster down by the first row of slot machines as well as opting for his shotgun and pistol.

"I got your back." He heard Niner say, as he prepped his Uzi.

"Alright, thanks Niner. I could use the company." Six smiled, although he was a bit surprise at his eagerness to help. He turned to see Florence gearing up as well to his surprise again.

"You too?" He asks. Florence looked back at him with indifference.

"Hey, I'd like nothing more than to sit here and let the convicts shoot you up instead of me. but orders are orders."

"Uh, okay. Thanks... I guess" Six didn't really know how to take her answer. Originally, he was going to try and sneak in quietly. An extra hand is good to have but two? it might actually be harder his way now.

"Don't forget me Six." Vanessa slid in ready to go as well.

"Uh actually Vanessa, Do you think you could stay here and help guard the casino?" Six asked. He didn't want to turn down another helping hand but it was going to be too much at that point.

"What, you don't think I can handle myself?" She retorted in response.

"It's not that, I know you can handle yourself, which is why I think it's best if you stay and defend everyone here. Besides, too many people going could make things a bit hairy in there." Six was being truthful, but it still wasn't convincing Vanessa. Nevertheless she rolled her eyes and agreed. "Maybe give Delilah a hand with the wounded while you're at it." He added in at the end.

"Alright fine. But be back quick. I don't like staying in one spot all day."

"Will do." Six finished half listening as the trio opened the doors to storm the castle.

* * *

"Alright, that should do it. Just keep those bandages clean and change them every night until a few days after it starts scarring over." Delilah advised as she finished up patching up one of the townsfolk's arm. The patient barely had time to thank her before she moved on to the next one. To save supplies, she was using some of her homemade healing powder that worked nearly as well as the stimpaks. After the last patient, she went to check up on Vanessa who was helping the man with a broken leg.

"How's it going over here?" She asked.

"Good. Just finishing him up." Vanessa said. She was just about to apply a stimpak when Delilah noticed something wrong and stopped her first.

"Wait. Aren't you going to splint the leg?" She asked. Vanessa looked at her in confusion.

"Splint the leg? I already set it. It's straight." An alarm went off in Delilah's head.

"But if you don't keep it steady it's going to bow itself back out! Even with the stimpak it won't heal right over time. Then he's never going to walk right again."

"Delilah! I know what I'm doing! Stop trying to contradict me!" She snapped back. This just made Delilah even angrier. She looked over to the patient, who's face had gotten paler with fear while listening to their dispute. Or at least, that's what she hoped the only reason was. She calmed herself down just enough to continue, and hopefully Vanessa would too. For the patient's sake.

"Am I gonna be okay doc?" The patient asked he started to sweat.

"You're gonna be just fine sweetheart. Just an extra step and were done. What's your name?" Delilah said to the patient as calmly as she could.

"T-Tommy." He answered. "Tommy Peters."

"Tommy, I'm going to have to tie some boards to your leg so it can heal properly. Then you'll be good as new!" She said in her usual upbeat voice. She looked around and managed to find some wood pieces and a couple leather belts that would work. She returned and set the leg up in an instant. "There we go! Just keep off that leg for a good six to eight weeks. Use crutches or a wheelchair if you can find one, and stay as hydrated as you can. After that, you'll be good as new! I promise!" She smiled at him to reassure him. He managed a weak smile back as well. Afterwards, She turned to Vanessa.

"Vanessa, can I talk to you for a moment?" She asked as calmly as she could. Vanessa was still glaring at her but agreed. Out of earshot from the wounded Delilah started as patiently as she could.

"Have you ever actually set a broken leg before? And be honest with me." Vanessa folded her arms and stared. She was insulted that Delilah would even ask that.

"Of course I!.. Well, maybe not personally. But I've read up on it in some text books! It's very simple." Delilah was trying to keep her cool, but Vanessa's hardheadedness and short fuse was becoming unnerving.

"It's not simple. I've had to treat a lot of broken bones myself, and I can already name five things you've done wrong, and out of order."

"Oh what? And your backwards tribal powder and... voodoo work better?" Vanessa lashed out. That was the last straw for Delilah.

"You know what... just go watch the door. All you're good at is hurting people, You can't help anyone except for yourself!" Vanessa's eyes were fierce with rage, almost as if they were going to catch fire. But instead, she took a deep breath and nodded. She stomped away quickly not wanting to let Delilah see how much she got to her. Immediately, Delilah regretted what she said to her. Shaking her head, she pushed that thought to the back of her mind and went back to work on the wounded. **  
**

* * *

Six's group hastened around the hotel for a good entrance. Sadly only the front was unlocked. They were going to have to rely on stealth to get the jump on them. That meant using melee weapons. They rounded up at the front door and got into position. Florence fixed her bayonet, Niner had a shortened baseball bat, and Six relied on his shotgun, planning to use it as a club as it only had one shell left anyway.

Florence took the lead. She silently counted down with her fingers before opening the door. Quietly, but quickly they scanned the area. Nobody seemed to be watching the front door. ' _Could it be a trap, or just slacked security?'_ Six thought to himself. They were in a lobby, with a large front desk ahead of them. To the right was a smaller desk with a terminal on it, a door to a storage room lay beyond it that Niner immediately took advantage of. He tried the knob first, it was locked. Next he pulled out a small makeshift crowbar from his belt. With limited effort he forced the door open, which made a bit more than a racket. Six and Florence immediately shushed him, to which he just made a light chuckle in response. Florence had taken point and was about to round the corner when three convicts emerged from the hallway. Most likely they were responding to the noise Niner made. She quickly used a buttstroke attack with her rifle to the first man's neck, taking him down, but her reflexes weren't fast enough to take on the other two who quickly opened fire. Florence darted back behind the front desk to safety, but not before taking a bullet in the left shoulder.

Suddenly, Six heard that familiar faint hiss again. He instinctively tackled Niner and pushed him into the storage room out of the way of the explosion from the stick of dynamite. They hit a rack with a meager bunch of canned food on the shelves. One of the cans rolled off and fell right on Niner's head.

"Augh! Goddamn... Hey!" He called out. Still on full alert, Six whipped around fearing the worst.

"You alright?!"

"Hell yeah. I've got peaches!" He showed the can to Six, who upon reading the faded label, found out something new about his friend.

"Those are beets, Niner."

"Oh..." He said in disappointment, and reached behind him, placing the can back on the shelf. They dusted themselves off and got right back to the gunfight.

"Sergeant! You okay?" Six called in between shots from his pistol. Florence finished applying a stimpak and gave a quick nod as she struggled to load her pistol with her good hand while the arm healed with the help of the medical chems. She took out another convict as he was peering out. The other was becoming more cautious, firing blindly around the corner. Florence's rifle was on the other side of the desk, out of reach. She peered around the desk again to get a good idea of the convicts location. She found him behind the door-jam, right before ducking back to avoid the bullets. Six kept an eye on her as she started to give him hand gestures to suppress the convict while she flanked them.

"What's she on about?" Niner asked. Six quietly shushed him and whispered to follow his lead. They opened fire, keeping the convict occupied while Florence raced out from cover. She grabbed her rifle and charged around the corner, ducking low to avoid the convict's aim, and landed her bayonet in his stomach at an upward angle that also pierced his heart. Finally, he slumped over lifelessly. She pushed the rag-doll body back to the ground with her boot and worked the bayonet out from his contracted muscles.

"Well... So much for sneaking in." Six remarked as he looked over the body, then to Florence, who just wiped her bayonet off on the convicts shirt and continued on. Six fell in close behind. Niner on the other hand, caught a glimpse of the dead man's pistol. It was a revolver with mother-of-pearl grips, and a gold trimmed black finish. A clover impression was inlaid in ebony on the handle.

"Ooh, shiny." He whispered to himself as he pocketed the pistol and ran to catch up with the pair.

* * *

While waiting for Six and his group to get back, Delilah finished her last patient and decided to take a look at the car that was on display in the middle of the casino. It was definitely an older car, even by pre-war standards. Bullet holes littered both sides of the vehicle from hood to trunk. Taking a look at the brass plate in front of the display, it simply read 'VIKKI AND VANCE'S DEATH CAR'. Below was a description printed on paper that's been too faded to make out for a long time. Now fully interested in learning more about the display, Delilah set out to look for the Protectron in a desperado hat she saw earlier. It just so happened that it was right on the other side of the display.

"Howdy pardner! Welcome to the Vikki and Vance Casino and Museum." It greeted her in a thick and very campy cowboy accent which made Delilah let out a small chuckle. Lady, still at her side, tilted her head at the machine. For the same reason for all she knew.

"Who are you?" She asked after she got her breath back.

"Primm Slim at your service! Authentic cowpoke and official spokesbot of the Vikki and Vance Casino and Museum! Yeehaw!"

"Vikki and Vance? Who were they?"

"Where have you been, pardner? Hiding under a rock? Vikki and Vance were this nation's fourth or maybe fifth most infamous celebrity outlaw couple ever, that's who they was! Primm Slim here can tell you the whole story, if you can spare a minute to hear the tale." Delilah had more than a few minutes, and learning about the local lore was one of her favorite things.

"I've got plenty of time! Tell me the whole story of Vikki and Vance!"

"Yahoo! I ain't had a chance to tell their tale in a mess of years." At this point, Delilah was going to have to accept the fact that keeping a straight face wasn't going to be possible listening to that accent. Nevertheless, she let it continue.

"First things first: Any bosh you've heard about Vikki and Vance being copycats ain't nothing but ill-tempered slander. Fact is, they begun their crime spree two days before Bonnie and Clyde robbed their first bank - so who was copying who? Now true, Vikki and Vance didn't exactly cut a wide swath of murder and bank robbery across the central U.S., like Bonnie and Clyde did. It was more like a narrow swath of shoplifting, check-cashing fraud, and gas pump drive-offs - but crime is crime! They drove reckless, too. Having lived by the gun - well, Vance owned one, anyway - it was only fitting that the duo of desperadoes would die by the gun. Perhaps it was fate itself that accidentally drove them into a crossfire between police and a gang of bank robbers in Plano, Texas. Or maybe they just didn't notice until it was too late. It's been said that Vikki would have tried to cash a bad check in that bank, had she lived. We'll never know for sure. All we know is that the crossfire tore the car and both occupants to pieces, and the police issued an official apology. You can put your eyes on the genuine Death Car just over yonder, and there's Vance's machine gun in the case next to it"

Delilah looked over the car as she listened to the story. As dry as it was, She was soaking in all the history like a sponge. But looking over the smaller display cases, she noticed something odd about it.

"Uh, Primm Slim. Did you know that Vance's gun is missing?" Primm Slim moved forward with his awkward moving protectron legs to the gun case.

"Just mosey on over to the display case and you'll see it plain as day. Quite a piece, that gun. Mint condition. Never fired." She looked at the mistaken robot, and back to the case, which obviously hadn't changed.

"The display case is empty. The gun's missing." She pointed to the case, trying to make the machine understand. Slim just pivoted on his leg mounts to face her directly.

"Have you gone loco, pardner? I can see the gun with my own three photo sensors from where I'm standing right now." Suddenly, strange noises started up inside the robot as its lights dimmed. Similar to what a terminal would do when it tries to read a corrupted file. A couple seconds later the lights came back on again, right where it left off.

"Um, The gun is still missing. Maybe you've been 'hacked' or something?" She asked, a bit concerned. Her computer knowledge wasn't quite up to par like others in her company.

"You're plumb loco partner! Now quit yammering on about missing guns. Primm Slim's a busy man, ain't got time for that sort of bosh." Primm Slim turned back and made its way back to where it was standing beforehand, leaving Delilah a bit confused.

Suddenly the doors swung open. Delilah rushed forward, glad to see someone finally made it back. Only it wasn't Six's group. Four very rough looking characters barged in unannounced. One had their gun fixed on Vanessa who had previously fallen asleep in her chair and was caught off guard. The thug in the middle, a woman, wore an NCR beret. She cleared her throat before she announced to the whole casino.

"Okay everyone, remain calm. This is our casino now!" She said as she brandished her gun at Nash who just happened to be sitting in the wrong place at the wrong time. The other thugs picked out more targets, gesturing everyone to drop their guns in the middle of the room. Lady was in front of Delilah, growling at the unwelcome visitors.

"Ah hell's bells..." Delilah muttered under her breath.

* * *

"Room clear" Florence said in a hushed tone. Apparently all the gunfire didn't seem to attract too much attention for the rest of the convicts. It still didn't put Six at ease. They carefully surveyed the main lobby of the hotel. Chairs were neatly lined up along the walls. Across the room was another section of the building that would lead into the dining area, and then to the kitchen. It wasn't going to be easy, the entrance to the dining area split off at the end into a T shape where they could get ambushed very easily. They could hear several convicts sitting around talking.

"Hey, sounds like there's a lot of them up ahead man. Lemme try using these." Niner nudged to Six. He reached into his pack and pulled out a couple small tin cans that seemed to be duct-taped together with a sensor module attached to the end. Six recognized them as a kind of home made powder charge. He was a bit speculative, but decided that Niner knew what he was doing and let him proceed. Quietly Niner peeked around the corner to get a count of how many were there. He could see five. Carefully he placed a charge around the corner on each side and activated them. The red light on the sensors showed they were armed.

"Alright, now to get these guys to take the bait." He took his pack off and tossed it to a far corner of the room. Six and Florence stayed in the same corner as they had an idea what was coming. Next, Niner marched back to the dining hall in full view of the criminal gang and got their attention.

"Hey! Can anyone help me find my pet Mirelurk? Bout' yay big and-" He barely had time to finish his act before everyone in the room came charging at him. He spotted two of them cut around the other corner to try and flank him. Just as he planned. Niner sprinted back at top speed, clearing the blast zone just in time for both cans to erupt at nearly the same instance. Dust and debris blew through the rooms and made it near impossible to see. Florence was already keeping a bead on the doorway. She fired her weapon at any shape she saw moving, gunning down the rest of the convicts.

"Careful Sergeant! We don't know if one might be the deputy." Six urged. Florence had been becoming increasingly annoyed with Six's 'overly cautious nature' but he did have a point this time, so she complied. The dust settled quickly and Six rounded the corner carefully with his modified shotgun at the ready, his only shell in the barrel. To the left of the dining room was the kitchen area, where he could see movement. He moved slowly over the bodies of the convicts that got caught in the blast. Just then, one started to grunt and pulled himself up off his stomach. Six moved in quickly to confront him.

"Hold on pardner. It's over. Just put your hands up and you can walk out of here alive." The convict just gave him a sneering glare. Six saw him eye a hunting shotgun to his left. The convict gave a small sadistic grin as he met his eyes.

"Please. Don't do it." Six said. Just as he feared, the convict darted straight for the shotgun. But Six's reflexes were too quick, as buck-shot ripped through the convicts rib cage and lungs. He was dead almost instantly.

"God damn it!" He cursed under his breath. It was never a pretty business to take someone's life. Especially if it was thrown away needlessly. _'War never changes_ ' he thought to himself. More movement came from the kitchen again. As soon as Niner and Florence caught up he continued on, switching out his empty shotgun for his pistol. Off into the corner he spotted a man that seemed to be in a dizzy state. He was clad in leather armor and swept back grey hair. It was Deputy Beagle, the tied hands were a dead giveaway. His face was red and purple with bruises. It was obvious that they had been beating on him for a good long while. Six cleared his throat to get his attention. Beagle perked his head up in fear.

"I've told you Powder Gangers everything I know! Please don't hit me anymore!"

"Calm down. The Powder Gangers are gone. You must be Deputy Beagle." Six said. The deputy breathed a sigh of relief before straightening up as best he could.

"Why uh, yes I am. It's a pleasure to meet you. Now, I don't suppose you came here to rescue me did you? I'd cross my fingers but my hands are numb." He started in a much more suave voice as he twisted his hands. "As you can see, I'm in a bit of a 'perdicament' here, and I'd be most appreciative if you'd set me free." Six gladly did so. He scavenged a switchblade from a nearby body and cut the leather straps that bound his hands and feet. Beagle tended to his sore wrists, regaining the feeling in his fingertips once again and let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh that's just marvelous. I think I'll be making my way outside now. The air's a little close in here." He started to make his way back through the kitchen, only to be stopped by a light tug from Six.

"Now hold on just a second! I didn't cut you loose so you could run away. We gotta finish clearing out the hotel, 'Deputy'!" Beagle's face had the look of shock but quickly covered up with a smug chuckle.

"Oh no! I can't be a deputy without a sheriff. It's called chain of command! I'd only slow you down anyway. See you outside!" Six was admittedly stunned by the deputy's cowardice. Nevertheless, it may just be best to let him go. He just needed assurance that the deputy made it to his destination.

"Niner, could you 'escort' the deputy to the casino please?". Six asked. Niner gave him a lazy salute.

"Yeah, sure thing man. C'mon Mr. Beagle, let's get you to the casino."

"Oh, that's so gracious of you, to offer to bodyguard me like that." Beagle said, playing up his kindness card again.

"Sure, run away. You don't look like you'd be much help." Florence mocked as the deputy walked past her in a strutting fashion. Beagle just turned his head slightly, not letting the comment change his mood.

"Then I'll defer to your superior appraisal of character and prowess in contests of arms and see you outside." He commented, before they continued back out. Before they left, Niner pulled a leather shotgun bandolier off his shoulder.

"Oh Six, I think this'll fit your shotgun." He called as he tossed it to Six. They were 12 Gauge rounds, just what he needed. Six thanked him graciously, although he might not have heard as he already was out the door with the Deputy.

"Are you really the deputy? I mean look, I ain't saying you look incompetent, I'm just saying you look, unfortunate. Y'know, I'm just saying." Six could hear him say as his voice faded away. Six turned to Florence who was ready to go, as usual. The only thing next to do was clear out the rest of the hotel.

"Alright Sergeant. Shall we?" The Sergeant nodded and they headed off to the second floor.

* * *

"What do you want from us? We've got nothing to offer you. Especially in the state were in." Nash pleaded as calmly as he could. Not only for himself, but the whole town. His wife, Ruby, was at his side clutching his hand. The female thug just sneered at his answer.

"Oh that's where you're wrong 'Gramps'. This is a casino right? Everybody here's got caps." She turned to the rest of the townsfolk, and raised her voice for everyone to hear.

"You heard right folks. If you want to leave in one piece, you're gonna need to pay a fine. 100 caps each should cover it. Not a bad price for keeping your insides out of sight."

"Are you serious?! Either you're crazy or just plain stupid. A town this size isn't going to have that many caps here!" Vanessa blurted out, still in her chair.

"You just watch your mouth, little punk." One of the thugs that was guarding her said. Vanessa just sneered back.

"Punk? That's my line." That seemed to get the leaders attention. She gave a snide chuckle.

"Heh, you've got moxy, girl. Alright, we'll cut you some slack. 50 caps each, and you're home free." Delilah stepped in with her hands still raised. Lady was still at her side, ready to attack. Her heart was running a marathon at this point. She was praying for Six, or someone to walk through that door right now.

"You're making a big mistake you know. The NCR's just across the bridge." The thug leader smirked at her.

"No biggie there. We've been avoiding the patrols and staying low key until now. And they're too short handed to do anything about it anyway. And we would know from personal experience."

"Oh, I see... So you're deserters then?" Delilah continued, trying to coax more information out of their captors as carefully as she could. Both to stall, and possibly find an edge on them. It seemed to be working. But it still didn't stop her from trembling inside.

"I like to think that were Prisoners Of War that managed to escape before capture. I don't know how long it'll be before the Legion crosses the river, but sure as fuck I don't want to be wearing an NCR uniform when they get here."

* * *

"Oh goddamn. It's not looking good in there deputy. Shouldn't you do something?" Niner whispered to Beagle as they look on through a small bullet hole in one of the doors to the casino.

"Me? What would bring you to that conclusion?" The cowardly deputy protested as he huddled behind the concrete wall next to him.

"Uh, I don't know. you're the deputy maybe?"

"Might I educate you again, it's called chain of command. No sheriff, no deputy."

"C'mon man. just admit that you're a fake and get over yourself, Wait a minute!" Beagle looked to Niner who seemed to be preoccupied in his own head.

"Wait... Damn, lost it... Hold on, I got it!" He sprung to his feet with a foolproof plan. "Hold on, wait here." He said and sprinted back towards where the shacks were. Not five minutes later, he was sprinting back with his arms full of gear.

"Hey now, That's my brother-in-law's coat. God rest his soul, what are you doing?"

"You ever been to Denver? Real strange place. Everybody lives in the sky. Anyway, so this crew I was with over there, ran into some trouble like this once. I've got a plan. Just gotta give em a good show, and they'll scare off."

"I'm not going to like this, am I?" Beagle sighed.

* * *

"So that's it? You've resorted to robbing and raiding to solve your problems?" Delilah continued.

"Our luck has gone south since we lost all of our money gambling in Vegas. We didn't go AWOL from duty to become raiders. But we've seen what the Legion does to people that survive their battles. We wanted to be gone before the fighting starts."

"I guess I can understand that." Delilah admitted. "What was your original plan, if not raiding?"

"We figured we'd make some money in New Vegas and then beat feet. Then we'd head north or something and take our caps to start up a ranch or something. And we heard there may be some safety up in New Canaan."

"But, why go through all that trouble? Why not just turn yourselves in? I'm sure they'd understand." The deserter scoffed at hearing that.

"No fucking way. We're deserters now, the NCR isn't going to throw us a ticker-tape parade for going home."

"You're right. You're totally screwed." Vanessa mocked, even with a gun pointed at her. The leader started to get agitated with her, She pointed her pistol at her as well.

"I'm getting tired of your chatter. Yours just went back up to 100 caps. Now pay up, or we start using you for target practice." The leader cocked her pistol when the doors burst open. Two men stood in the doorway, armed to the teeth. A spotlight shown on them like a glimmer of hope in the darkness.

"You're gonna want to put those guns away now. Dirtbag."

"And who the fuck are you?" The lead deserter said, still holding her gun up.

"I guess you haven't heard. The law's back in town." The first man said with a raspy voice. His leather duster draped down behind him, with a silver star that gleamed on his left breast. A tall cowboy hat on top of his head shielded his eyes from view. The sound of spurs jingled, jangled, then jingled again as he walked forward. As he walked closer, she could see he was already duel-wielding pistols. Both aimed at her. His partner was clad in leather with a hunting shotgun at the ready.

"Aw Fuck, we lose again." The lead thug said in a voice that went from mean to shaky in an instant.

"That's right. and if you know what's good for ya, you'd skedaddle out of here before the townsfolk have four blood stains to clean up in this charming casino."

"Hey, we heard Primm was ripe for the picking, s-so we figured we could come here and shakedown some of the suckers. We weren't expecting a sheriff to be here! W-We're just trying to put as many miles from NCR as we can, we don't want to be anywhere near New Vegas when the Legion crosses the river." The leader started to shake. She could barely keep her pistol steady.

"Well then. Drop your guns... And start walking. Before I change my mind."

"O-okay... Were going, were going! You heard him fellas! Let's hit the road." She tossed her pistol on the ground, defeated. Her crew did the same and ran out close behind her. As soon as the deserters were out of sight, the casino exploded with cheers. Everyone piled forward to meet their new heroes. Delilah herself pushed through the crowd to get a good look.

"Can you tell us your name sir?" Delilah asked as the sheriff mades eye contact. He stepped forward, took his hat off, and lowered the collar of his duster.

"Just your friendly neighborhood badass, that's all." A familiar voice said. When she saw his face, she bursted out laughing.

"Niner?! You sneaky bastard!" She jumped up and gave him a big hug.

"Hey 'pigtails'. What's shakin' bacon?"

"Haha! Dwellin' like a felon." She answered without skipping a beat. Coincidentally, it was a saying she and Sunny would share together when they were young. Hugs, and hand shakes were exchanged until the door opened again. At this point nobody knew what to expect, so they prepared themselves quickly and readied their weapons. In through the door came none other than Six, who looked around not expecting to see so much iron pointed at him.

"Uh, Hey everyone... What'd I miss?"

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

 **(Forgot to mention last chapter) Amanda, the Lone Wanderer's sister that Vanessa mentions, is an homage to the fallout 3 mod "Ties That Bind" by thefourwings. Probably one of the best, and immersive companion mods I ever played in Fallout 3. it deserved a cameo I think. Check it out here:**

 **fallout3/mods/19941/?**

 **The Colt Rangemaster was a hunting rifle that appeared in fallout 1, 2, and tactics. Always liked the way this rifle looked and thought I'd give this a cameo.  
**

 **The UZI was a submachine gun that appeared in fallout tactics.  
**

 **Something cool I discovered while looking up mines during this chapter. The mine used in fallout 3 and new vegas are modeled after the Russian TM-46 Anti Tank mine. Looks the same and in the real world is roughly twice the size as the one you see in-game.**

 **Sergeant Florence takes place of the generic NCR soldier in LT. Hayes' tent. She had no official role in the game, nor has there been a mod made for her... Yet.**

 **The state of the Sheriff's home, and indeed many others to come is from Dracomies' Mod: New Vegas Redesigned 3. Now this mod is like none other, going completely in depth with every NPC, location, etc to capture the realism, the lawlessness, and makes Fallout New Vegas what is was meant to be. Check it out for yourself, you won't be disappointed. But I should warn you, ADULT THEMES! Lawless wasteland remains the keyword here.**

 **newvegas/mods/56312/?**

 **The outfit I use for Vanessa is the Mercenary Wanderer armor by Thundersmacker. Seems alot better than the original in Vanessa's mod that's a bit more... skimpy.  
**

 **newvegas/mods/47855**

 **Let's see how many of you get the reference to Niner's 'Peaches'.**

 **I'll see you all next chapter!**


	6. Postage Due

The inside of the Mojave Express building was nearly back in order by the time Six arrived there that afternoon. Johnson Nash was hard at work in his shop and was even able to get most of the scattered papers organized by that time.

"Hey there Mr. Nash. How's everything going in here?"

"Nice of you to stop by, son. Just finished getting things organized here. Was about to start looking for that manifest you was wanting to see."

"Thank you, take your time. I'm in no big hurry." Six said. He had already helped out plenty with cleaning up the town and was in no big rush, although that didn't stop his eagerness. A couple seconds went by before he inquired about the robot. "So uh... What can you tell me about the eyebot you've got there?"

"Oh what? That beat up old thing? What do you want to know?" Johnson asked without even looking up from the file cabinets.

"Well first off, where did it come from?"

"A courier dropped it off a couple months back. I got it working for a little while, but the darn thing pooped out. I haven't been able to get it up and running again. I was hoping to use it for some courier work, but that ain't gonna happen."

"Do you know what's wrong with it?" Nash raised his free arm to the side and shook his head.

"Hell if I know. I don't think its serious, but with these eyes as they are, my tinkering days are long gone."

"Do... you mind if I try to fix it before I leave town?" Six asked cautiously.

"You're welcome to try. Hell, its yours if you can get it working. If I had my way I'd dump it in the scrapyard in Novac and be done with the damn thing."

"Sounds like a deal to me!" Six exclaimed. Nash gave a small chuckle before his eyes caught sight of what he was looking for.

"Here we go." He said as he pulled out one of the manila folders. "I think I've found something that might strike an interest to you."

"And?" Six asked. He was very anxious to get another piece to the puzzle that was his past. Nash pulled out his half moon shaped glasses out of his coveralls again and took a look.

"Here it is. Courier Six, assigned to one... 'Henry Radsmith'. Well that's an interesting last name. Anyway there it is." He said as he put his glasses away. Six looked over his name in print. He could feel a tear of joy start to creep out of his left eye. He did his best to keep his composure.

"Henry, Radsmith... Henry." He repeated the name in his head, trying to see if anything else would spark. Nothing.

"There anything else I can help you with now that things settled down a bit?" Nash asked, as Six reread that name over again for a solid minute.

"Uh, no. Thank you though. I appreciate the help. I really do!" He returned the papers to Nash and headed back out the door to find the others.

"Well alright then. Take it easy. Should have the shop up and runnin again by tomorrow if you need supplies." Nash called out as Six left. He could just wave back quickly in his hurry.

* * *

"Now I still can't believe the look on those troublemaker's faces when you told them the law was back. We scared them right good we did." Beagle said as he raised a beer bottle in a toast. Niner accepted it with his own bottle, along with a couple other townsfolk that were listening in as they all sat in the bar.

"So is that it then? You gonna stay and be our new sheriff now?" One of the townsfolk asked. Niner just shook his head, to the settler's disappointment.

"Nah man. I 'ain't the settling type you know? Gotta get to Vegas. Make it big!" He looked over at the sight of Six walking in and waved him over.

"Ain't that right Six?" He called. Six heard his rant that pulled him out of his wandering thoughts again. He proceeded to make his way over.

"Hey. What are we talking about?" He asked as he took a seat from a nearby slot machine and plopped it down beside him. Beagle filled him in.

"Oh we were just reminiscing about how I broke myself out of that hostage situation - not to diminish your role in it, of course - but it was quite thrilling." He paused to see Six's 'less than amused' reaction.

"Ha! I'm just joking with the lot of you! But in all seriousness, that was quite a perdicament you fellas rescued me from, there in the Bison Steve. A most unpleasant experience." Six's face relaxed again and began to chuckle at Beagle's humor. Beagle was actually a very friendly and funny guy when he wasn't cowering in a corner.

"So how'd you end up being a hostage in the first place?" Niner asked, after a swig from his bottle. The deputy lost his smile as he remembered back, and the twinkle in his eye seemed to disappear.

"The Powder Gangers stole into town in the middle of the night and murdered my sister and her husband, the sheriff. Right in their bed, while I was sleeping in the office. The gunshots woke me up. When I figured out what was going on I watched them for a bit, waiting for the right moment to pounce and arrest the lot of them. Taking careful notes as I watched. To my dismay, they found me while I waited in the shadows and brought me to the hotel."

"Wait... They killed your sister and brother-in-law and you were going to just arrest 15 guys? I'd have killed them right there."

"Yes. Well, no... I don't know to be honest. *sigh* the thing is boys, I'm a coward. I'm not afraid to admit it but I am. I was too afraid for my own life that I couldn't do my job, and it cost me dearly. Now you fellas on the other hand, going in to rescue a hostage not even worth the ransom. My brother-in-law was brave like that. Made a fine sheriff. They didn't deserve to go out that way... Problem is now, there's still no law in Primm. What're we to do the next time ruffians menace us and hold us hostage?" Six thought for a second.

"Well. If you don't step up, somebody else is going to have to. What are the qualifications to be a Sheriff?" He asked, finally.

"It should be someone brave like you, but more of a homebody. Someone who'll settle down and watch over us."

"Sounds easy enough. anybody you can think of that'll fit that profile?" The deputy scratched his chin subconsciously as he thought about it.

"I heard the Powder Gangers talking about someone in the prison named Meyers who has some experience as a sheriff. It's a little ironic but he may be a good choice. Also with the NCR so close by, they may be able to take over the town. But then, not sure why they haven't helped out already come to think about it."

"Well, I guess that leaves us with one option."

"Are you saying you're going to-"

"That's right! I'm going to bring law and order back to Primm." Six announced. Once again, he volunteered for the improbable before his voice of reason could say anything. Nevertheless, Beagle was much more upbeat after he heard that.

"You will? That's just marvelous! I'll start thinking up questions for the interview! Now I think personally, the sheriff that was incarcerated up at NCRCF may be a good choice.

"Alright. But if I can't convince him, then what do you recommend next?"

"Maybe convince that NCR gentleman across the road to take the town under his wing, although martial law doesn't sound so fun." The deputy admittedly frowned at the thought of that.

"Well, looks like I'll be taking a trip to the prison tomorrow. I'd better get readied up." Six said. He thanked everyone for inviting him over and headed out to start getting ready. He knew just the person to talk to next. Niner rushed to his side, wondering what he was going on about.

"Whoah hold on Six. You're not serious about going there, right? they'll turn you to blood sausages before you get to the door."

"It's alright Niner. I've got a plan." Six said with a small grin on his face.

* * *

"Alright Courier, this is what I could scrounge up at the last minute." Florence said as she handed Six a cardboard box of supplies in front of Primm. Unlike the other NCR Troopers, she helped out with the town cleanup after she finished processing the convicts that they captured in the hotel rooms. She seemed much less agitated than earlier that day.

"Thanks for your help, Sergeant. I appreciate it."

"I still think you're an idiot for this idea, but... I have to admit you've shown more guts than most other wastelanders I've met. I can respect that."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Six smiled smugly before the trooper marched off to return to her side of the bridge.

Once the day was done with, the group were invited to stay in a couple of the rooms on the first floor of the hotel, free of charge. Many of the others have long since been destroyed by the bombs but others were in fairly good shape to sleep in. They hung around the cafeteria, sharing their stories about the day to each other, and the occasional local that passed by. Six even had a chance to tell them his discovery, but in the end, they decided that 'Six' suited him better than 'Henry'. He agreed, since the name didn't really strike any feelings or memories in him. It seemed unimportant for some reason. The chatter was cheerful until Six divulged his prison plan to them. That changed the mood quickly.

"Wait, what? We jusht cleared out the town! Let'sh just go!" Vanessa blurted out. The time of the day, and her slurring told Six that she was less than sober right now. Delilah agreed with her nonetheless.

"She's right. What the hell are you thinking?! I mean, why do you want to put yourself in even more danger for just one guy?!" She was both worried, and angry at Six for thinking so recklessly. Six let them voice their frustration before continuing.

"I'm sorry you guys, but I don't think you understand. It's not just about finding a new sheriff... These Powder Gangers are completely out of hand. First it was Goodsprings, then Sloan, and now Primm. Someone needs to stop them." He paused as he looked over their mixed expressions.

"No, seriously. Fuck that! Let the khaki-backs do it! It'sh not our problem." Vanessa stumbled over her words once more. He just shook his head at her.

" _*sigh*_ The NCR's not going to do anything unless their command says it's important enough, and they were absolutely sure they could win. If not, then it's not worth their trouble and we can't wait that long. There's no other way. I'm sorry, but I'm not going to sit back and let anybody else die for no reason."

"I agree these people desperately need our help, but how can just 5 people take out a whole prison full of dozens of inmates?" Delilah asked with her arms crossed as she became more frustrated at the whole idea by the minute.

"Not... exactly... I'd have to go alone to scout it out. Maybe talk to their leader, and make a deal or something. No offense but if there were any women with me it would blow my cover, since the Correctional Facility only had male inmates."

"I like where this is going- Ow!" Niner started before being cut off by a sharp kick in the leg by Delilah. He changed his tone after he took the hint. "I mean, But how are you going to get in? You don't really look like the inmate type, y'know."

"Well I pulled some strings and Sergeant Florence sent me some NCRCF clothes that were on the convicts we captured. I figured that will get me inside so I can get close enough to-" Delilah bolted out of her chair. Even in the low lighting, Six could see her enraged face.

"I think I've heard enough for one night. I'm going to bed." She said as civil as she could before she stampered off to her hotel room, Lady at her feet. It left a long pause in the air, and Six was a bit confused with the level of her reaction.

"Was it something I said?" He asked. Vanessa scoffed at him in her drunken truthfulness.

"Wow. All you men really are brainless." She smirked before she stood up as well. She swayed but didn't fall surprisingly, and made her way to her room as well. Six and Niner were left in the hotel cafeteria still unsure of what went down.

"What just happened?" Six asked after a few seconds.

"I don't know. Women huh... Anyway, don't worry man. I'll head over there with you." Niner said with a slap on Six's shoulder.

"You really don't have to. We could both be killed tomorrow." Six returned. He didn't take Niner into account since he didn't plan on trying to convince him to come along.

"Hey, I can guarantee you won't make it back if you go it alone. Two Amigos' am I right?" That lifted Six's spirits up alot. Although he may need more than that the next day...

* * *

 _"The game was rigged from the start."_ The man in the checkered suit called out to Six. The flash from the nickel plated pistol lit up the night as the bullet once again found it's way into his skull. Only this time, he could swear he heard two shots. Time slowed down as he fell to the ground. It took what seemed like an eternity for him to hit the dirt this time. He darted up in a cold sweat again and gasped for breath. He found himself in the hotel room again. Relieved, he looked over to his pip-boy, it was 2:36 AM. Getting back to sleep was near impossible for him now. _'Hopefully it'll all end when I find that bastard._ ' He thought to himself. He yearned for that peaceful sleep that was still a long ways away...

* * *

Early the next morning, Six and Niner prepared for their trip to the correctional facility. They donned the convict uniforms that Florence provided. Niner had resorted to cutting off the sleeves on his shirt and coat to make them more comfortable. Six had a more slender frame and had no problem fitting into a set. In fact, he had to roll up the cuffs of his sleeves and use a belt for the pants to get them to stay on. They were ready to go within a half hour, packing very lightly. Six kept his 9mm pistol and most of the caps and NCR currency to bribe the powder gangers. He also decided to leave it with the rest of his gear, lest it drew too much attention to them. Niner went with his fancy new revolver with the name 'Lucky' inscribed in gold on the side of the barrel, and even brought out a couple headsets he had in his pack in order to keep in contact with the girls who were staying behind. They said their goodbyes to several of the townsfolk, and Vanessa. Delilah hadn't come out of her room yet before they had to leave. As they walked off back into the wasteland, regret fell over Six as the thought of Delilah's reaction last night still roamed around in his head. She had been a great friend to him ever since his return from near death, and he didn't like to leave on such a bitter note. They headed north just as the sun had reached over the mountains. It quickly started to roast them as they snaked their way across the small rocky hills and valleys that covered the arid landscape. After coming atop a small hill, Six looked back at the small town in the distance. It's roller coaster was still visible behind the hotel where the rest of his friends stayed.

"Man, that was the worst theme park I've ever been to!" Niner broke the silence.

"Have you been to alot then?" Six returned. He didn't really care but it was good to have a bit of idle chatter to take his mind off the mission.

"No. But just sayin. They could have had some kind of theme to it. And what the hell was wrong with the casino? Where were the hookers?"

"I don't know. Probably won't see alot of that till we get to Vegas."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Niner said, not very satisfied with that answer. After another 20 minutes of trekking the small hills, they came up to a larger one that was a bit steeper than they could climb. Coming around the bend they find themselves right on the edge of the facility. It was built almost like a giant cage, with two rows of chain link fencing topped with barbed wire bordering the entire perimeter. There were four concrete buildings that looked to be prison barracks of a sort. Most likely the holding cells. Guard towers were posted on each corner with spotlights that were probably still operational even after both the war, and the takeover. There was only one visible entrance that led to the larger concrete building in the center of the compound. Six swallowed hard as he tried to mentally prepare for the mission ahead.

"Alright you ready for this Niner?... Niner?" He looked back to see his friend scooping up dirt on the ground nearby.

"Over here. Just putting on the final touch." Niner came back with new patches of dirt on his clothes and face.

"Alright, your turn." He said as he walked toward him with a fresh clump in his hand.

"That's fine. I'm alright- Wait!" Niner was already dusting him over for the final effect. Even with the bandana covering his stitches, Six had to remember to keep it clean to avoid infection. He started spitting dirt out of his mouth after the dust settled.

"Alright, what you think?" Niner asked as he stood back to let his dirty friend look himself over.

"I feel really dumb." Six answered a bit defeated.

"Not about how you feel man, it's about how you look."

"I look like a damn fool!"

"No, you look like a convict!"

"Fine, can we get this over with now?"

"One sec, let me just get in the zone." Niner pulled out that same bottle of steady as he had earlier. He Inhaled quickly, and exhaled the chem fog slowly.

"C'mon Niner, are you serious? We need to keep our heads clear if we want any chance of getting through this!" Six protested. He could hardly believe he was doing that at a time like this.

"Exactly, we need to be 'steady' man. Don't worry, this is what helps me focus." Niner tossed the bottle behind his back after it was empty, letting it crash on the ground. Six had plenty on his mind to say but decided not to. _'If I get through this, it'll be a goddamn miracle'_ he thought to himself. They made their way around the hill to the main gate. Six could see that it was automated due to the rails and junction box attachments. Inside was a fenced path that led to the main building. A powder ganger was out front by the main door, sitting in an old folding chair as he 'stood' guard.

"Let me do the talking, alright man?" Niner whispered to Six. He looked a bit too confident for Six's taste, but he just silently prayed to whoever was listening that they didn't completely screw up in the first five minutes.

" _*ahem*_ Hey bro! You gonna open the gate or what?" Niner called out. He pounded on the fence to get the guard's attention.

"Alright alright, don't get your panties in a bunch." The guard said as he pressed a button on the wall without even getting out of his chair. A loud ringing noise started briefly as the gate slowly opened."

"Bout damn time man, It's too hot out here!" Niner called out as he strutted in. Six was close behind trying to act accordingly.

"You roll down a hill or something? What's with all the dirt?" The guard asked as he looked them over suspiciously. Six couldn't help but roll his eyes at Niner. It seemed to go well until the guard suddenly pulled his shotgun on them.

"Hold on there. I know 'all' the guys I did time with around here and you two ain't any of them. Can't fool me with that Powder Ganger getup." Niner's plan crashed and burned right before Six's eyes. Luckily, he thought fast as he nudged forward to try and diffuse the situation.

"Were just here to meet a friend and didn't want to get shot on sight. Heard he was locked up here before the breakout. C'mon man. what's your price?" He said as casually as he could. Miraculously it seemed to work. The guard thought for a second.

"Well, I don't know. Depends on if you can make it worth my time. How much you got?"

"Alright, let's see." Six pulled out his money bag from his satchel to fish out several caps. Instead of waiting, the Powder ganger snatched up the whole bag and weighed it.

"Now hold on just a sec-" Six started before the convict pointed his single-shotgun at his face. "Okay, that's alright." Six backed off again. With the way the convict was holding his gun, he would've broken his hand had he fired. Either way it didn't matter to Six. Satisfied, the convict tied the bag of money onto his belt with a grin on his face.

"All right, you can go on in. Can't guarantee your safety, though. Just saying." He jerked his head for Six to move quickly. He grudgingly did. Niner started in as well before being tapped by the guards gun barrel.

"Hold up man, you gotta pay tribute too. Watcha got for me?" Without skipping a beat, Niner pulled out his entry fee.

"Got ya covered bro. I got Jet, a couple Psychos, and I'll even throw in a box of Orange Mentats."

"That'll do. Alright you can go in." Niner did so gratefully, and even sported double finger guns at him. The guard just gave him a strange look before he sat back down in his chair and popped one of the mentats in his mouth.

"He seems nice." Niner said as the door closed behind him. Six just rolled his eyes at him.

"Okay, let's see if we can find this Meyers guy." Six said after a quick survey of the area. The room they found themselves in was most likely a waiting area previously, but the current residents converted it into some kind of bar. With chairs and tables set up around the room, mismatched stools at the reception desk, and a refrigerator behind it that was filled to the brink with all kinds of drinks. Some Nuka Cola, and Sunset, but mostly beer, whisky, and vodka. Six decided to ask a convict that was sitting closest to him for information. _'Play it cool. you got this'_. He repeated in his head.

"Hey man. You know if Meyers got back yet?" At first the convict just gave him a questionable stare that sent shivers down Six's spine.

"Got back? Bro, when does he ever go out? He's over there." He pointed to the back left corner, to a man in a black desperado hat.

"That's our guy. Let's get this over with." Six muttered to Niner as they headed over. Meyers seemed to recognize, or more to the point, not recognize either of them as he stopped mid-sip of his drink glancing back at them.

"Didn't know anyone would willingly walk into this place, not unless they were looking for trouble. What's your story" He said as he continued to finish his glass.

"Long and spotty. Not important though, the name's Six, and this is Niner. Were actually here because of you. We have some questions if you have some time." Meyers accepted the invite with an open shrug. He waved his hand to the two chairs across from him for them to sit. The chairs were uncomfortable and hopefully wouldn't have to be endured for too long. Six noticed the revolver on Meyers' hip under the table, but his body language told him he wasn't expecting too much trouble, nor probably cared. Hopefully the mood didn't change.

"Alright, ask away. Not like I've got a place to be." Meyers said after a second.

"Well uh, I guess we'll start with what you did before you ended up incarcerated?" Six started. Meyers gave a small cynical smile before he answered.

"I was a sheriff, believe it or not, for a small town far to the west of here. The short version is that sometimes justice is a little slow, and I helped speed it up one too many times."

"So you took the law into your own hands then?"

"When I needed to, yes. Now I wouldn't call myself corrupt like these other 'upholders of the law', but if I have a hunch or a gut feeling that something isn't being given proper justice, I gave it to em myself. I'm not sorry for anything I did, but I will do the time. Fair enough trade, if you ask me."

"Nice, sounds like a real Silver Shroud right here, eh Six?" Niner remarked. Six ignored the commentary and continued with the very oddball interview.

"Okay, so why are you still here?" Six asked. Meanwhile, Meyers poured himself another glass.

"I stuck around, figuring the NCR would show up and put things back the way they were. No sense in making myself look guilty, right?" He made another chuckle and downed his glass. " Besides, I'm not quite sure the kind of greeting NCR troopers will give an escaped con like myself. Better to stay put for now... What's this all about anyway?" Six leaned forward a bit and made sure sure nobody else was listening in.

"To put it simply, How would you feel about becoming Primm's new sheriff?" He whispered. Meyers paused and stared them both down in surprise. Mostly he was mulling it over in his head. Finally, he answered with an approving shrug.

"Assuming an NCR pardon comes with the job - and it had better." He pointed to them. "I'll also need to be able to do things my own way. Due process has its place, but sometimes it's just a waste of time. I'll need to know that I'm not going to end up right back in prison." All in all, Six was a bit uncertain about how Meyers answered his questions, but he had a feeling that he would do what was right. So after thinking over the terms, he decided to finalize the agreement, extending his hand to Meyers, who accepted.

"You have a deal. Once I figure out how to get you a pardon, you'll be home free."

"I might know how. There's an NCR camp down on the southern border of Nevada we passed through while on the prison bus. Camp Mojave, something like that I think, try to contact someone of authority there."

"Consider it done." Six agreed. Now that that business was sorted out, it was time to take care of the Powder Ganger problem. "Hey speaking of authority, we were wondering if you'd be able to give us a bit of info on what's been going down here?" Six tried to sound as casually naive as he could.

"Hey, I don't care about alot of these guys one way or the other. Shoot"

"How did the break out all go down in the first place?" Meyers shifted back in his seat and thought back before he continued.

"I understand that Cooke was behind it all. I kept my head down the whole time. Didn't want any part of it."

"Who's Cooke?"

"Some kind of anti-NCR rebel back in the day. Some people just don't like being pushed around and told what to do. He managed to get alot of the prisoners on his side and well, you know the rest. He went north with alot of the other guys. Didn't say where, didn't say why. All I know is he's got some kind of score to settle with the NCR.

"So if he's up north, who's in charge of the Powder Gangers here?"

"Right now, Eddie and his boys run the place. They've got the guns and the dynamite, so they call the shots. Kind of like it now. Not too crowded since Cooke left... Wait. What are you planning?"

"Nothing. Just trying to get up to date, that's all." By the look in his eyes, Six knew he wasn't fooling him for a second. Nevertheless, Meyers accepted the answer.

"Okay, I'll leave it at that. Like I said, I don't really care about the rest of this lot. Just don't forget about my pardon."

"We'll let you know once we have it." Six said as he stood up to leave. Niner was right behind him.

"Okay, hurry back. I don't want anyone to start shooting at me." Meyers called out to them. Six hastened Niner to an isolated corner of the bar as they gathered their thoughts on what to do next.

"So I've been taking notes on the convicts here and in the towers on the way in. It doesn't look like it's too heavily guarded." Six started after he checked around for eavesdroppers.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, I mean if you look outside, there's probably two or three people on guard and nothing stronger than a fence. Would be easy to get through."

"Okay, so were changing the plan then. No talking to the big honchos?"

"No. We don't have much to bargain with anyway. But if we can get a message to the NCR, we should be able to take everyone out quickly."

"Heh, that sounds like more fun. Lets do it." Niner agreed with a big grin on his face. They walked briskly out the back door and to the main yard. Their next step was to try and contact the NCR base stationed by Primm and get help. Niner took out his headset to start hailing the girls.

"Alright, time to see if that thing of yours works." Six said as he looked around once more to make sure nobody was snooping around on their conversation.

"It does, gotta smack it a bit sometimes but yeah, it gets the job done." Niner smiled at him jokingly, who just gave him a slightly worried look back. Niner's grin disappeared as he powered up the device.

"Hello hello, anyone there? This is your DJ, Niner, coming to you live from the prison. How you feeling ladies?" He said in his poor expression of a radio announcer.

"Will you stop that?" Six urged, as time was running out. Niner dropped the act and tried again a couple times. During that time, Six took the liberty to jot down a few notes of the prison on a piece of paper he smuggled in as well.

"Agh... Not getting anything. I think we gotta move out from these buildings." He said finally. They moved over by one of the guard towers on the edge of the prison. Before they could try again they heard someone start to shout out at them. Niner tossed the radio under the tower out of sight as they met the view of three powder gangers approaching them. Two of them were wearing prison guard bullet proof vests. The one in the middle Six recognized immediately. It was the punk that had accompanied Cobb in Goodsprings. And the one Vanessa shot in the rear that day, as seen by his strange waddle.

"Hey you! yeah, I'm talkin' to ya! You're the one that fucked us over at Goodsprings! Wait till Eddie hears the dumbass paper boy is here." Six was frozen with fear as their cover was blown. Before they could move, they were subdued and disarmed by the two other convicts that were with him. The two captives were hastened to the northern part of the prison to what must have been the administration building. Once inside, the guards jerked them to the left, up a flight of stairs. They moved so quickly that Six had tripped several times, which didn't really matter due to the guard's grip on him. Once upstairs, the limping punk walked through one of the doors first that had the label 'WARDEN' written on the glass outside.

"Aw shit Felix, what do you want now?" An agitated voice groaned as he walked through the door. The guards drove the two in right afterwards. The man talking was most likely the current boss, Eddie. The four guards with him showed it. His face was pale and clean shaven but tough looking, with red hair that was shaped into a pompadour. He was sitting in the wardens chair with his feet on the desk, putting out a cigarette he was enjoying before he was interrupted. Behind him was a portrait on the wall of a man that Six could somewhat recognize but wasn't quite sure. The picture was defaced with lipstick and eyeliner drawn on his face, complete with pigtails and a ruff around his neck. To top it off the plaque on the bottom of the frame had 'PEACHES' scrawled over it.

"Got a present for ya Boss man. Found these two intruders snooping around outside!" 'Felix said with a cynical grin on his face that almost resembled a coyote. The guards brought the two forward and shoved them down on their knees.

"Dawes said he let somebody in. Good work Felix. Now get out."

"But boss... Don't you want to-"

"Out Felix!" Eddie raised his voice as he pointed to the door, refusing to look him in the eye. Felix hurried out for fear of what would happen to him had he stayed. Eddie sat upright in his chair and stared Six and Niner over. He didn't speak until the echo of Felix's footsteps faded away. "So, you going to give me a reason not to kill you both and throw your bodies back outside?" He started in an unusually calm, but equally threatening manner.

"Look uh, we just wanted to have a talk with you. That's all." Six started off. He was going to have to come up with something fast if he wanted to bargain with him, or live through this for that matter.

"About what?" Eddie's calm disposition started to disappear quickly.

"About all the trouble you've been causing around here lately."

"You got a problem with how I'm runnin' things around here? In my own territory?" He gestured to his guards to take care of them, pulling out their pistols ready to execute the pair.

"We came to join your crew!" Niner blurted out. That got Eddie's attention as he raised a brow in surprise. He waved to the guards to back off.

"Really? Is that a fact? How do I know you're not spies from the NCR or the local towns around here?"

"You kidding me? Were bad asses. Killed lots of people in a gang back west. Been on the run for a while now. Ain't that right Six?

"Uh, yeah. NCR's out for blood with us." Six answered. Eddie stood up from his chair and slowly walked over to the two of them.

"Interesting. Cuz Felix told me how my partner, Cobb was killed in Goodsprings. Said it was someone wearing a blue Mojave Express duster, dark hair, brown eyes, determined look... And a wound on the right side of his head." He said as he pulled off Six's bandanna to reveal his stitched scar. He looked over to Niner as he continued.

"You may be dumb enough to not have been involved in that. But it's not you I'm worried about. It's him." He turned back to Six and tapped the bullet hole on his head, making him flinch from the sting.

"Wanna be part of my gang? you gotta prove yourself first. Wadda ya say?" Eddie smiled with his yellow teeth. He knelt down to eye level with Six.

"What do you need done?" Six answered as he stared right back.

"Ha! Glad you asked." Eddie yelled as he stood up. The breath from his mouth was ungodly but Six didn't react to it.

"See, there's a merchant hanging around near the prison. Something feels, funny about him, and I want you to deal with him. Take his shit if he's legit, but if he's not, take him out."

"What exactly is 'funny' about this merchant?" Six asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The 'funny part' as you call it, is that most people already know we run this territory, and are usually in a hurry to get out. Not this guy. It's like he wants us to come get him. He's either just plain dumb, or he's working for somebody."

"Alright, consider it done." Six answered, ignoring his inner will.

"Good. He's been hanging out at Jeans Sky Diving. Probably still there. Scrambler, give him his piece back." The guard that was called Scrambler stepped forward. He was taller than Eddie, with a patch over his right eye, and a blonde mohawk on the top of his head. Reaching from a holster in the back he pulled out Six's pistol and handed it to him. Six took it but Scrambler still held on. Instead he leaned in to tell him something.

"Remember, were watching you. You mess up, you try to turn on us, you try to run... We'll know. We'll find you, and we'll kill you both." He finally released the pistol. Six swallowed hard at those words.

* * *

A few minutes later Six was back in the wasteland. He was out of the prison but he was far from being a free man. He tried not to look but he could just feel that he was being watched. ' _Whatever you do Six, don't screw this up_ ' He thought to himself. It was going to be tough though, He had no desire to kill anyone but it's possible that he'll have no choice. He checked the magazine in his pistol to find that they took out all but one bullet. _'Great..._ ' He thought. After about a half hour of walking he came up to a ledge with the private air strip just below. Two planes were sitting there as if they were ready to take off. Ahead of that was the shack he was suppose to reach. It was the same shack he and the girls hid in the other day. He hastily but cautiously moved to the left to get a good view of the front. It was completely empty. Slowly, Six moved in, about to check inside the shack. As he grasped the knob, he heard the click of a gun directly behind him. He slowly turned around to be greeted by a rather tall burly man, with a thick black beard and a tan sun-chaser hat on. A caravan shotgun was in his hands, pointed directly at Six's chest. They stared each other down until the merchant broke the silence.

"Well, well. It's about time one of you guys came along. I figure the NCR would pay a pretty good bounty for a Powder Ganger." He started in a surprisingly calm voice.

"Is there actually a bounty out on Powder Gangers?" Six returned, trying not to sound hostile and get his spine shot in half. The merchant just chuckled.

"No, but there really ought to be. I'm just taking the initiative, is all. Especially after the attacks you've been doing on merchants like me"

"A real merchant would be much more worried about Powder Gangers, you know."

"Hey I've done some work as a caravan guard, so I know how to handle a gun pretty well." The stranger said with a smug face. Six just raised an eyebrow at him.

"Traveling a little light for a merchant though, aren't you? No pack brahmin? Not even a backpack for that matter." A shot of fright streaked across the merchant's eyes as he knew he'd been found out.

"Well, you see, I... fuck." He said. He tightened the grip on his shotgun.

"I know the Powder Gangers are already on to you. It's why I'm here."

"Well it's not going to be that easy powder ganger!"

"It's not like that though. I'm not actually one of them." Six raised his hands even more, staying as calm as he can, although it was getting harder by the second.

"That all you got? You're dressed in convict clothes. Well guess what, I'm really a bounty hunter trying to catch you murdering thugs."

"I can prove it to you, if... you could put the gun down for a sec." The Bounty Hunter paused, not sure what the best course of action is for him.

"Show me first." He said, his gun still aimed at Six's chest.

"Fair enough" Six tossed his pistol on the ground to show him no hostilities. He then very slowly went for his shoe. He took it off and pulled out the piece of paper he had written on earlier. The bounty hunter stared at it for a second, realizing it was a hastily drawn map of the prison. "I need your help, okay?" The man stared suspiciously at the map, still with his shotgun pointed at him, but he let Six continue.

"Alright, I'm listening."

"There are weak points on this map showing guard positions, gang numbers, and the fence layout. I need you to go to the NCR camp in Primm, find Lieutenant Hayes, and tell him that he needs to attack the prison now if he's going to have a chance at taking down the powder gangers. Can you do that for me?"

"I..." He started, but was still unsure.

"Trust me, the NCR will pay alot more for intel than just a few corpses."

"That's true... Well, alright boy. You got me convinced. I'll see that this gets to the right people. Sorry I, uh, tried to ambush you there. No hard feelings, I hope." He lowered his gun, finally loosening the tension between them.

"It's alright, I understand. But there's another thing though if you'd be willing."

"Okay, what's that?"

"I have a friend there named Meyers that wants to go free, but wants an official pardon from the NCR first. They should be able to authorize one from Camp Mojave."

"The Mojave Outpost? Alright. There anything else?"

"Yeah... There's one other thing. I'm still being watched by the gangers, and they're going to get suspicious if I come back empty handed, so I... Need to rob you."

"Wait, are you serious?!" The bounty hunter didn't raise his weapon again but he still had plenty to protest.

"I'm sure the NCR will be more than willing to compensate you for that as well. It's very important that things go smoothly on both ends, otherwise there's going to be alot more to worry about than a few lost caps."

"* _sigh_ * Fine, I'll do it. I have about 38 caps, and a few cans of pork & beans. That going to be enough?"

"It's gotta be convincing. Can you maybe... spare a weapon?"

"You really are robbing me aren't you?!"

"I'm very sorry about all this. Just... Think of it as a trade. A gun for a cap investment."

"Well... Fine, I've got this old police pistol you can have." The bounty hunter pulled out a small black pistol and tossed it to Six. "That'd better be it."

"That'll work. I appreciate everything you're doing. Good luck out there."

"Yeah. You too. Hope you don't get shot when the NCR rolls in." The two went their separate ways. Both prayed that things will go as planned.

* * *

"I've taken care of that merchant you were after. Shook him down for some of his gear. He was a bit light though because he had just finished a caravan run and his guards bailed on him." Six dropped the bag of caps, food, and the pistol down on the table. Scrambler quickly gathered them up and counted the earnings. Eddie was very pleased with Six's 'success'.

"Good to know. Had him figured for NCR. One of the rangers maybe. Anyway, You're free to go about the camp now. That's where your friend's at. But don't think we've taken our eyes off you just yet. You get me?"

"I got you... Boss." Six had to force that last word out. The bad taste stayed in his mouth.

"Good. Now get out of here." Eddie dismissed him with a wave of his hand. Six was very glad to oblige.

* * *

Niner waited in the yard for Six to come back from the administration building. He took out a cigarette from a pack he 'found' on one of the benches, but before he could light it, the doors opened as Six hastened through them.

"So how'd it go?" Niner asked. Six didn't say anything at first, only hastened him towards the corner of the visitor center where nobody would hear them.

"It went good. I got a message out. Hopefully it'll reach the lieutenant in time for them to hit this place when it's vulnerable."

"Whoah, He's going to attack the prison? With us in it?"

"Don't worry, we'll get out before then. We just have to stay low till we can make a break for it. Anything new on your end?"

"Yeah man, managed to get the girls on the horn. I told them what you were doing and how you had a big macho plan. They want to talk to you."

"That's great!" Six said as his face brightened up once more. "Lets see if we can get them on again."

"Right, got the mic stashed over here." Niner said as he led Six to the guard tower he'd been hiding the headset in. Niner stood watch as Six started tuning in to the right frequency.

* * *

Meanwhile in the wardens office, Eddie and Scrambler were going over plans on what their next step was for their gang, and their territory. Supplies were still sufficient but were coming in at a slower rate now. They had been tossing back and forth ideas about venturing out further for supplies.

"-Speaking of which, anyone seen that little shit Boxcar lately?" Eddie asked Scrambler after a second.

"Yeah. He and Oliver took some boys to catch some NCR troops down in Nipton. Give us something to play with later. Should be back in a couple days."

"Great. I'm down for a bit of target practice. Gets boring here... Sometimes." Eddie started to drift off into silence. He still held his cigarette as his eyes drifted upwards.

"Something on your mind, Boss?" Scrambler asked his friend after a few seconds.

"Yeah, something. The NCR hasn't raised hell over our breakout, and I don't know why. They're up to something, I can feel it."

"Should I send one of the new guys down to Primm to check it out?" Eddie thought on it for a minute. He watched the smoke from his cigarette as if it were going to give him a sign.

"Yeah, lets do that." He said finally. "Go get the scrawny one and bring him back in."

"You got it boss." Scrambler quickly started out the door like the loyal friend he was. Eddie Got up from his seat and walked over to the wall. He stared into the defaced portrait of the NCR's leader, President Kimball.

"What are your boys up to?" He muttered to himself. He filled his lungs with the warm, cancerous smoke, letting that relaxing feeling in, then blew it onto the picture, wishing it was the real Kimball's face.

* * *

"Anyone read me out there? This is Six." A few more seconds of static few by until a familiar voice came on.

"Six? is that really you." Six just smiled as he heard his friends voice.

"I'm here Delilah. How you doing?"

"Oh my god! I thought the worst when Niner told me what you were doing earlier! Its... really good to hear your voice."

"You too. Now listen carefully. I don't have much time but we have a plan. A bounty hunter is headed your way to give the lieutenant a map-" Suddenly, Six was stopped by a loud mechanical click by his ear.

"Well look here. Got some unauthorized contraband do we?" Scrambler sneered as he pointed his pistol at Six's head.

"Oh shit!" Niner called out. He was suppose to keep watch but started listening in to the headset and hadn't notice Scrambler sneak up on them. Six just stood there frozen. This would be the third time he's had a gun pointed at his head today.

"What's this?" Scrambler grabbed the headset from Six. Delilah could still be heard on the earphone.

"Six?! Are you okay? What's hap-" Her voice was cut off as Scrambler stomped the headset into tiny pieces of useless wires and circuitry.

"Oh, Eddie's not going to be happy about this." Scrambler said with a menacing grin.

* * *

"Six and Niner are in trouble! We have to do something!" Delilah yelled as she raced into the bar at the Vicki and Vance Casino. Vanessa was sitting there with her usual dose of whisky, chatting up the deputy. They could hardly understand Delilah until she caught her breath and repeated herself.

"What kind of trouble are we talking here?" Vanessa said bolting up from her stool.

"I don't know. He said something about a bounty hunter coming with a map to give to that lieutenant across the bridge. After that, just static. I... I think they got caught!"

"Well then let's get going already!" Vanessa blurted out. The two girls raced out of the casino and back across the bridge. The troopers that guarded the entrance didn't seem to pay them mind as they marched straight through. Vanessa pointed Florence by the tents out to Delilah, who was talking with a bearded man in a sunchaser hat and leather armor. He must have been the bounty hunter Six mentioned, as he stuck out like a sore thumb among the khaki uniforms. Florence handed a roll of NCR currency to the bounty hunter, who pocked it and walked off. Delilah got right to business and darted off to speak with Florence. Vanessa stayed behind.

"Hey Sergeant, did that guy just give you a map to the Correctional Facility?" Delilah asked nicely. The sergeant tilted her head and gave her a very questionable look.

"He... How do you know about that?"

"Six gave him the map. But he's being held hostage in there! We need to rescue him and Niner!"

"Keep your voice down!" Florence snipped at her in a hushed tone.

"What are you going to do about it though?" She asked in a quieter voice. Florence said nothing, but hastened her to a secluded corner by one of the broken down buildings. She peered over to make sure nobody was listening before continuing.

"I know he's your friend, but this is classified information! I can't just give that out to you!"

"Please! I can help! Just tell me what's going on." Delilah's big emerald eyes almost pierced into Florence's soul and finally broke down her guard.

"Fine." She said, defeated. "But this is confidential information. I'm authorized to kill you if it gets out. Got it?" Delilah nodded her head eagerly, despite the warning. "Okay. We finally got authorization to hit the complex at sundown, and reinforcements are on their way. That little map your friend gave us just pushed it to top priority. The Lt. has been organizing a battle plan since the orders came through."

"Is the lieutenant still in his tent?"

"He is. But now's not a good time to- Hey!" Delilah wasted no time and ran over to the officer's tent with Florence in tow. Inside, Lt. Hayes was in a chair at his table reading over several documents in a manila folder with the words 'CLASSIFIED' stamped across the top. The second he heard the flap open he slammed the folder shut.

"I'm sorry sir. She ran in before I could-" Florence started before the lieutenant held up his hand.

"It's fine sergeant. Is there something I can help you with civilian?"

"Yes. I need to talk to you about that map you got from the bounty hunter." The lieutenant gave the sergeant a suspicious look before continuing. Florence swallowed hard.

"Military operations are classified information." He stated firmly as he tapped his finger on the red lettering on the folder. Delilah just ignored his warning and continued.

"Classified or not, my friends are being held captive in there! I want to help with the attack." Delilah kept a serious face on Hayes. The lieutenant just sighed understandably, but shook his head.

"I understand you've got a bone to pick with the Powder Gangers. But get in line. This is a military operation and I can't have my troops babysitting you while an attack is in operation." Right then, Florence stepped forward to intervene.

"Sir, if I may. I've seen them in action and they're very capable. I suggest we let them join up with the rest of the troops. Especially if one of them has medical experience." Delilah was surprised to hear that coming from her. Especially with her disposition towards them in the beginning. That made Delilah feel very warm inside.

"This is a very unusual, not to mention very dangerous request, Sergeant... Still, they do look capable enough, and manpower hasn't been easy to come by, even with the small number of grunts the Mojave Outpost is sending us." Hayes thought for a few seconds, then finally turned to Delilah. "All right. If you want to put yourself in harm's way, it's fine by me. Come back here at 2300 hours. Dismissed"

"Yes sir!" Delilah exclaimed. She gave a two finger salute to the lieutenant and raced back out to tell Vanessa the plan. Florence just rolled her eyes as she started out of the tent behind her.

"And Stella!" Hayes called out. Florence snapped back at attention, though she cringed when she heard the name.

"Yes sir?"

"If this operation goes south, I'll see to it personally that you're buried in so much paperwork, the engineer corps won't be able to find you. You get me?"

"I... Get you sir."

"Good. You're dismissed." Florence gave her salute, which Hayes returned, before she headed back out again. She cursed herself for the trouble she's sure she'll be in later.

* * *

The duo were back in the warden's office again. Six was in front of Eddie's desk while Niner stood in the corner, Scrambler held Niner's own gun against his head, while Eddie stood in front of his desk, looming over Six.

"Not even a day with us and you really fucked up!" Eddie started as he stared Six down. His eyes were almost glowing with anger. But truthfully, he was scared inside. Scared that his reign over his territory might be cut short. And scared that the NCR could be beating down the door to take him out any minute. "Didn't scrambler tell you what would happen if you cross us?! Should have gunned you both down the second you walked in." Six just kept his cool.

"You know Eddie, it's not too late for you. You can still save your men here. Just turn yourselves in, and I'm sure they'll give you a fair treatment." Eddie's eye twitched for a second. He hid it by letting out a manic roar of laughter. Six could hear the panic in his voice though. Eddie calmed himself down enough to walk to Six and place his hand on his shoulder. His other hand quickly balled into a fist and slammed into Six's chest. He curled over in pain, only to have Eddie send a sideswipe to his jaw, sending him all the way to the ground.

"That bullet in your head must have messed you up. People like me, were going to get the the rope, or better yet, burned alive for what we've done." He stood over Six and drew his foot back. "And I am Not! Going! Back!" Eddie repeatedly kicked Six in the stomach. Afterwards he lifted his head up by his hair so that he could hear him clearly.

"By the time I'm done with you, you're going to beg me to kill you." Once his message was clear, Eddie sent a final blow to Six's face, knocking him out cold. Eddie slowly stood up again, fixing his pompadour that had fallen out of place. "Lock em up! I'll deal with them later myself."

* * *

The conditions inside the 'barracks' were little more than cramped, dirty, and had smells that were hard to pinpoint, but all of it foul. Scrambler brought Niner in at gunpoint while two other guards dragged Six in just as he was coming to. They were shoved into a cell in the far left corner. Most likely they had picked the most disgusting one they could find. once they were at their cell, Scrambler kicked Niner in, making him loose his balance and fall to the ground. They heaved Six in right after in a similar manner before locking the cell door. Niner ran up to the bars as they walked off.

"Hey! You're gonna be sorry you did that!" He yelled out. Their response was a burst of laughter as they continued out of the barracks. The large metal door latches behind them, sealing off even the sound of their laughter. A few seconds flew by as Niner rested his head on the bars. He started to grasp how much luck was falling through their fingers now. Eventually he heard Six groan as he came to, he turned to see him try to stand up and went over to help him. "Hey, there he is! let's get you on that bed." Niner guided him over to one of the bunk beds to rest on, but didn't watch Six's head as it clanged on a broken bar that dangled from the top bunk.

"Whoops. Sorry man." He apologized as Six slumped all the way down holding the back of his head.

" _*sigh*_ No... I'm sorry, Niner." He said finally.

"For what bro?"

"For bringing you into this mess with me. I should have done this alone."

"Nah, it's alright. You didn't ask me to. I just tagged along, that's all." Six just smiled back at him.

"Well, thanks for that. Good to have some company here. Especially in such a lovely room like this." Niner chuckled at that. He stood up and looked around the cell for a few moments. He caught a glimpse of something partially under one of the mattresses. He flipped the mattress over to find two magazines.

"Hey Six check it out! Looks like a prewar magazine on uh... Cat's maybe? and another one with, a safe and a bunch of keys... Damn, I wish I could read."

"Cats? Lemme see that." Niner tossed it over as Six wondered what a bunch of hard asses would be doing with a cat magazine. One look at that signature black cat silhouette answered his question.

"It's Cat's paw." He tossed it back to Niner. "Not really in the mood for that kind of reading right now."

"What's that then?"

"Open it up. You'll see." Six just counted down in his head for Niner's reaction.

"Hell yeah man!" Niner flipped through the pictures with interest. Lucky for Six though, he was too modest to do anything about it at the moment. Six decided to check out the other magazine. He took a look at the cover which read, 'Locksmith's Reader'. He flipped through the ads for different safes and door locks until he saw a picture that got his mind going.

"Wait a second Niner."

"What? Something good?"

"Maybe... They have a diagram of how a lock tumbler works in here. Look around! See if you can find anything like a... nail, or bobby pin, or something."

"How about this?" Niner asked as he held up a pencil.

"I don't think so. It's gotta be strong enough to turn a lock tumbler and not break." They looked around for a few more minutes with no luck. Six finally leaned on the cell bars in defeat. "They probably left that in here to mock us." Niner just shrugged in agreement. Just then, Six saw something that gleamed on a table across the way. It was a fork. Just what he needed, but he would need to reach it. He rubbed the back of his head still feeling that sore spot from the broken piece of the bed.

"That's it..."

"What's it?" Niner asked again. Six didn't even bother to answer as he hurried to the bed and worked the metal box tubing until it was free. He ran back to the bars and used it to reach for the fork. He was out of reach of the table by several inches.

Damnit! It won't reach." He groaned.

Here, let me try." Niner took the metal pole and reached out as well. He could reach out further than Six but it was still not enough. "Ugh, Goddamn. It's no use Six."

"There's got to be a way." Six looked around again. This time for something that could extend the pole out even more. All he could find was a very flat pillow. His mind went off again and he started to take the cover off and rip it into strips of fabric. A few minutes of ripping and tying knots later, he fashioned himself a rope. He tied it to the middle of the tube and went back to the bars.

"How are you gonna grab the fork with that?"

"I'm not. I'm gonna bring the whole table over." Six answered. With that, he aimed in between the table legs and slowly pulled it back. the bar slid out from between the legs but that didn't stop Six. He tried again a few more times and eventually was able to get a hold of the table long enough to drag it over to arm's reach.

"Six, you're a goddamn genius!"

"Hey, wouldn't have even done this if you hadn't found that magazine."

"Teamwork, bro!" Niner exclaimed as they high-fived.

"Alright, now to see if I can learn how to do this." Six had no previous skill in lockpicking but nevertheless, it was better to try anyways. Maybe his luck would turn around. He broke off one of the tines and used a gap in the bars to bend it into a tiny hook, and bent another at a 90 degree angle. He took a deep breath and went to work.

* * *

"C'mon Delilah! Hurry up!" Vanessa yelled to her.

"In a minute! Hold your brahmin!" Delilah called back out." Delilah had asked Johnson Nash's wife Ruby to watch Lady for her while they went on their mission to save their friends. She didn't give out any details since it was still classified but the Nashs understood and were happy to help out either way. The NCR reinforcements were still another hour away, but Vanessa was already bored waiting for the time to pass. Delilah turned back to Ruby who still had a smile on her face.

"Don't worry dear, she'll be treated like royalty." The sweet old lady said very warmly.

"Thank you Ruby, you're a lifesaver."

"It's the least I can do for you. If it were about thirty years ago I'd be going out there with you girls. Oh to be young again... Now go on, your friend is waiting. And be safe." Delilah nodded before kneeling down to say goodbye to Lady.

"I'll be back soon. Bye Lady!" Lady whimpered, who seemed to understand her. She stared at Delilah with the two saddest blue eyes she had ever seen. She had to force herself not to look as she walked off.

"We good?" Vanessa asked her companion as she hurried out the door. Delilah took a deep breath before she answered.

"Yeah. Good to go." She said. She was much more focused now that she had more time to think. She was still worried about the guys but was able to keep her cool now. Which is exactly what she needed tonight if she was going to look after any possible wounded. The two girls arrived at the northern section of the camp just before 10:30 pm where Lt. Hayes, Sgt. Florence and about three other troopers were waiting. The lieutenant greeted them with a salute as they line up with the rest of the troops.

"Glad you could join us." He said with the first smile Delilah had seen on his face yet.

"Glad to be here sir. Are you heading out with us?" Delilah returned. Hayes just shook his head.

"No. I wish I could, but there needs to be an officer garrisoned at this post."

"Okay, I guess... So uh, where's the reinforcements? Or is this it?"

"They're due to arrive any minute now. When First Sergeant Lee gets here with his troops and engineers, you'll head out on foot."

"Sounds like a plan" She said eagerly. They waited for almost an hour before they finally heard the worn fusion powered engine of a prewar army truck roar up the road. It slowed down as it reached Primm, nearly hitting the wooden boards on the overpass as it drove underneath it. Finally it screeched to a halt in front of the group.

"Bout damn time Lee." Delilah could hear Hayes say under his breath. Several troops start to pile out of the truck. One of the soldiers with a beret similar to Lt. Hayes walked up to him and gave a salute, which was returned.

"Sir, First Sergeant Lee, 9th Battalion, 4th company reporting for duty Sir!"

"At ease First Sergeant. Awful bit late don't you think?"

"Apologies Sir. We had to deal with a few Jackals on the way here. No casualties but those sneaky bastards must have been hungry."

"Understood. Just glad you made it in one piece First Sergeant. I'm not interested in writing a report on you getting shot up before the attack even happens." They both let out a small chuckle before Lee gave a glancing look at Florence.

"How's it going Stella?" He said to her, who sighed.

"Damnit Allen, don't call me Stella." She retorted. Lee let out another small chuckle before he continued.

"be careful, I outrank you now Sergeant." He said as he pointed to the extra bars on his arm.

"Ooh, I'm shaking in my boots... 'First Sergeant'." Florence made the sarcastic comeback. It may have just been the glow of the afternoon sun but Delilah thought she could see Florence blush a little. Not to mention the sly smile. The truck was unloaded in under a minute with over a dozen troopers added to the unit. Most were armed with the newer service rifles rather than the usual varmint rifles or rangemasters the garrisoned troopers carried. a couple of them had field caps and sniper rifles that had a silencer attachment. four others, with castle shaped patches on their arms, carried satchels with explosives and other field equipment as well. After lining up with the rest of the squad, they waited for the First Sergeant to stand before them. He cleared his throat and began his briefing.

"Alright troopers, listen up, cuz I'm only going to say this once. Command has intel that the Powder Gangers have left their whole base wide open for us. We've got surprise on our side, and that's about it. Once we get there, the engineers are going to blow a gap in the fence. After that, we've got to pour on the fire and keep them disorganized. Our objective is to take out their leader, some assbag named Eddie. With the ringleader gone, the rest will fold. That's all the briefing you're going to get grunts. Now let's go, double time troopers!" The group moved out two by two quickly. Vanessa could keep pace easily but Delilah had to push herself to keep up.

The attack group made it to the staging area in a record time of only fifteen minutes. Lee took half the squad and broke off to the north side of the compound as per orders while Florence took the rest of the unit as well as Vanessa and Delilah to the south. They had to crawl forward a few meters before they found a low spot they could set up in. Florence had pulled out a pair of binoculars to get a fix on any of the guards positions. There was one in each of the two towers on opposite sides of the compound. They had searchlights that moved from time to time whenever they thought they saw something in the distance. Luckily, they weren't alerted to the half dozen NCR troopers and 'volunteers' that waited under the dry brush. Delilah checked her revolver and ammo and regretted that she might have to use it for real this time around.

"Hey, Red. You're a good shot right?" Florence asked Vanessa noticing the scope and silencer on her rifle. She gave a very proud nod.

"Good, I want you to take out the guard on the west tower while Corporal Oscar takes out the east. I want a clean shot so the Engineers don't get caught while placing the explosives." She instructed.

"Got it." Vanessa whispered back. Both she and Oscar crawled forward to set up their targets. Vanessa took a deep breath, lined up her target, then exhaled as her rifle kicked back silently. It was a clean shot. Oscar took his shot as well, and also a clean kill. Next was the engineer's turn to do their job. They quickly placed their C4 at the stress points in the fence and returned to their post in less than a minute.

"Would you like to do the honors, sergeant?" One of the engineers asked as he handed the detonator to Florence. She took it gladly, waited a few seconds, and pressed the button. The engineers handled their explosives almost like an art as the fencing between the two guard towers collapsed in on itself in unison. They could hear Lee's men to the same at the opposite side as well. Once down, the sergeant gave the orders to attack, and the battle began.

* * *

"So what are we gonna do now Eddie? Cooke took nearly half the prison with him, and now Chavez left. Where we gonna get some people to defend this area while were out scavenging?" Scrambler said to his friend who sat across from him. He and several other men were sitting around the desk in the Warden's office. Eddie thought for a minute, then slammed his hand down onto the table with an idea.

"Robots." He said in an obvious tone. Everyone looked at him in question, though they tried not to show it.

"Uh... Robots, boss?" One of them said after a minute. Eddie returned an annoyed glare at the man.

"You heard me. We get our hands on some good ol' prewar security. Gun turrets, protectrons, sentry bots, you name it! That'll show anyone who comes a knockin."

"You think we got time to do that before Kimballs dogs get-?" Scrambler was interrupted when he heard an explosion from outside the building. They wouldn't have noticed it if the building didn't shake. Eddie wasted no time as he bolted up from his chair.

"Sounds like they're already here. Get everyone with working hands a gun and kill those assholes! There's no way I'm letting them take me alive!"

* * *

The Compound erupted into a frenzy of gunfire as both NCR squads worked their way in. Many of the convicts were picked off before they could exit the buildings to engage them. Those still in the courtyard didn't stand a chance for long.

"Man down!" one of the soldiers called out through the firefight. Delilah was on the scene in an instant and quickly found the soldier's friend as he clutched his shoulder.

"It's alright, let me take a look." She said calmly as she undressed the wounded area. To her relief she saw a small exit wound in the back of the shoulder, though she was still going to have to act fast. "Looks like it went clean through. You're going to be just fine." First, she applied a med-x that dulled the pain for him, then came the bandages and whisky to disinfect the area. She stopped the bleeding and applied a stimpak before tightly dressing the wound at lightening speed. Once the two squads met with each other, they started to sweep through the buildings one by one. In the visitors center they were met with little resistance as one man in a desperado hat surrendered peacefully. Vanessa took her time and started racking up headshots as the convicts emerged from the buildings, watchtowers, and what seems like every pile of rubble in the facility. She lined up her shot to one of them starting to flee. Oddly, he was limping on his left side. A quick glance at the hair made her remember, and decided to plant another piece of lead in him. This time in the right side of his hind quarters. Just to make it even. She chuckled when she heard him curse a whole manner of things at her. Meanwhile, Eddie had gotten his hands on a stealth boy he'd been saving for emergencies. Slowly but surely he sneaked out of the admin building and made his way around the compound. Rather than escaping, he let his rage take over as it lead him to the barracks where Six and Niner were being held. If he was going to die, he'd make sure the man who messed up his future paid for it dearly.

* * *

"Couple more degrees, Nope... No." Six muttered to himself endlessly.

"C'mon Six, give it a rest already. If it was going to work, it'd be open already." Niner said.

"Almost there, I'm real close this time."

"It's been three hours man. Give it a break."

" _*sigh*_ Alright, fine." Six said as he finally put his makeshift lockpick away. I just don't like sitting around without trying to do 'something'."

"Take a nap. That'll pass the time." Niner shut his eyes again to dose off to dreamland. When suddenly, they felt the building shake. Dust fell from the ceiling where cracks festered in the concrete. "The hell was that?" He said as he sat up. Six took a pause before he answered.

"It might be the NCR. Maybe the bounty hunter pulled through!" He raced back to the door and started to try the makeshift lockpick again. After a few minutes they heard the door open. Hope raced through him but it was halted when he heard the door close again, and the sound of footsteps walking in casually. It was definitely not the NCR.

"Knock knock." They heard a familiar voice say in a haunting tone. Sure enough, they were face to face with Eddie. "Time to clock out boys. The NCR's here, and I want some payback before they show up." He said as he showed his yellowed teeth in a crooked smile and cracked his neck. Six removed the lockpick from the door and stood up to face him.

"Eddie, listen to me. It doesn't have to end this way. Just let us out, surrender and we can all walk out of here alive."

"You just don't get it do you... There is no life for me anymore. Especially after you fucked up my plans." Eddie stepped forward to their cell and leaned up against the bars. Niner walked forward angrily, his patience had widdled down to nothing as he pounded on the bars.

"Just let us out of here, or I'll knock you on your ass!" He said. He took the first chance he got and grabbed at Eddie through the bars, but the sly convict planned for it. He grabbed hold of the muscular arms and pulled out a pair of handcuffs, quickly shackling them together through the bars. Niner was dumbstruck at how swiftly that happened. Eddie let out a mean chuckle which quickly turns into a manic laugh. Pulling out a set of keys, he unlocked the cell door and strolled inside.

"Looks like your postage is due, courier." He said with the sadistic smile still on his face.

"You realize how cliche that sounds right?" Six came back. The grin was wiped off Eddie's face, who then pulled his gun out and pointed it at Six's forehead.

"Yeah, you tell that greasehead Six!" Niner called out. Eddie glanced over his shoulder in disgust.

"You're next, numbskull. Don't try my patience or it'll be- Oof!" Eddie started, but was thrust back as Six took his chance and dove for him. Eddie fired, but the bullet just missed his head, although it nearly deafened him in the process.

* * *

The administration building was almost secured but a wounded Scrambler was still on the loose and slowly creeped around the corners of the building. He was shot several times in the chest, but his bullet proof vest took most of the brunt of it. It still didn't lessen the pain he was feeling as he was sure one of them got through the kevlar. He managed to get near the front door, and to his luck, nobody seemed to be guarding it, save one. A short girl with pigtails. It was very out of place to see that in a time like this. Nevertheless, he ran up and lunged at the girl, only to find the floor as she dodged out of the way quickly. It went on for several minutes until the girl could pull out a revolver and aim it at Scrambler. He managed to snatch it up and turned it on her, but found himself on the floor as his legs swept out from under him, This time it was another girl in NCR attire that tripped him. His wrist snapped onto her with the revolver, but before he could fire, he felt a sharp pain in his head as the first girl swung her metal canteen at him with all her might. He collapsed onto the concrete floor hard and fell out of consciousness. Eddie's head of security and most trusted friend had been beaten by a girl less than half his size and weight.

* * *

The keys for Niners cuffs laid on the ground behind him. It was at least a few feet out of his reach, but he still tried desperately to grab them with his foot. Six managed to get Eddie on the ground, and started to repeatedly kick him in the stomach like he did to Six earlier. But Eddie had a hidden switchblade that he plunged into Six's foot on the next blow. Six howled in pain and fell to the ground, giving Eddie the advantage once again. He got up and made several more blows to Six's stomach and face. Satisfied, he straddled his victim and lunged at him with the knife. Six caught it but was loosing ground as the blade inched closer. Finally Six managed to twist Eddie's hand away and without thinking, proceeded to bite into the armed hand. Even as the blood dripped into his mouth and the iron taste made him nauseous he still clamped down until it was Eddie's turn to scream in pain. He dropped the knife and clutched his hand with a large chunk of flesh missing from his palm. With absolute rage he came charging back at Six, who manages to clear the way, letting his foe hit the concrete floor. Six latched on to Eddie's back and wrapped his arms around his neck in a headlock. Eddie had enough strength left to lift both him and Six up and tried to slam him against the wall. But Six's grip just tightened more. Finally, Eddie's energy was running out as he succumbed to the effects of suffocation. He squirmed on the ground with Six behind him, tightening his grip even more than he thought he could. Finally, the frantic hands stopped grabbing at him, and the squirming of his legs ceased. The leader of the Powder Gangers, was dead.

* * *

The assault neared it's end as the NCR started to clear out every building. Finally, Vanessa and two other troopers started searching through the cell block that the two prisoners were. She could hear Niner's voice in the distance.

"Six. You got him man... Six?" Niner consulted his friend as Six laid there, still latched on to the convict's neck. He could still hear Eddie's voice in his head, remembering back to Goodsprings, Ringo's caravan, and the lifeless bodies of his fellow couriers in Primm. He didn't realize that he had been in that same position for a few minutes after Eddie stopped kicking. Coming back to reality, he let go and pushed the lifeless body off of him. His hands started to shake when he fully realized what he'd just done. Looking up, he saw Vanessa standing there, watching him in silence. Six could see in her eyes that she understood what happened. There was no way he could have saved Eddie from his fate.

The NCRCF had been taken over in less than 20 minutes. With the battle over, there was no need for walking back to Primm on foot, to Six's relief. The group, finally together again, made it back on the convoy truck that First Sergeant Lee had radioed in when the facility was secured.

* * *

"Boy, I can't believe how much practice I'm getting on you. I'll be a full fledged doctor before we even get there!" Delilah joked as she finished cleaning the last of Six's wounds in the cafeteria. That made him chuckle, although it was still a little painful with his bruised abdomen.

"Glad I could help you out." He said through the discomfort. She gave him a sympathetic smile, but quickly started repacking her supplies when she caught herself staring.

"All done. Just be sure to get some rest. I recommend a couple days before you start doing anything strenuous with your foot."

"Define strenuous." Six commented. She rolled her eyes at him as she went for her bag. She grabbed the wrong end which caused a book to plop on the ground. Six couldn't help but notice that it wasn't a medical book like he'd expect to see. He saw a picture of a red horse on the cover before she scooped it up.

"What's that you got there?" He inquired about the oddly placed piece of literature. Delilah brought it back out to show it to him with excitement.

"Oh, it's a book I found when we were at the compound. It's called 'The Catcher in The Rye'. I've heard that this is an amazing story, I can't wait to read it!" She clutched the book in her arms with glee.

"It sure looks like it! Do you read alot?"

"Anytime I get the chance! I love to read! It's my Dad's legacy to me. We... used to always read together." Delilah started to trail off a bit as she looked over the cover of the book, lost in the picture.

"You miss him alot, don't ya?" Six inquired. She nodded as she still looked the book over.

"Dad taught me to read. We would read every night, and he told me wonderful stories about books we would probably never see again. He still kept this list of books he wanted to find."

"I see books out there every so often. If you want, I could take a copy of your list and keep an eye out for them." Delilah's head bolted back up with a small smile returning to her face.

"That would be great! I'll be sure to make a copy right away!"

"Sounds good. We can look it over when we head out tomorrow." Six started to stand up from his chair, but stepped with the wrong foot and fell back down in pain.

"Oh no you don't!" Delilah scolded him. "You're staying right here until you get a good day to rest, buddy."

"A- a day? Are you serious?"

"Doctors orders." She said as she pointed at him with a stern finger. Delilah took her medical practice very seriously, and Six couldn't help but admire her for it. Finally he gave in.

"Alright, Fine... I guess we can take the day to stock up on any supplies we need."

"That's what I like to hear! Now let's get you to your room, 'Mr. Radsmith'." She said as she handed him a cane and jokingly led him like an elderly man. The laughing made Six even more sore, although it was worth it in his mind.

* * *

The next day, most everyone was out of the hotel to trade with the townsfolk for provisions, save for Six, who sat in his room brooding over his slowly healing foot. Delilah had administered a stimpak to speed up the process but to him it wasn't fast enough.

"That's it, I can't take it. I gotta do... Something!" He said to himself. He took his cane and left his room, being very careful not to put any pressure on his foot. He decided to make it over to the Deputy's office first. He knocked on the door, in which Beagle called that he'd be out in a little bit. He could hear the voices from inside and recognized the other's voice as Meyers. The NCR pardon must have gone through, to Six's delight. Several more minutes passed by until the interview was over and he could hear chairs being pulled out. Once Meyers left, Six walked in to see Beagle at his desk going over his notes.

"So how'd the interview go?" Six asked as he leaned up against the door frame, Beagle straightened up and gave him a reassuring grin.

"Very well I think. He should do just fine. I suppose I should be thanking you for restoring the rule of law to Primm. So... Thank you for your services. Anyway, was there something I can help you with?"

"Yes, actually. I was wondering if you can you tell me about a man in the checkered suit who came through here? Johnson said you may have someone like that."

"Yes, the one in the daisy suit. Had a company of Great Khans if I recollect. I overheard them talking about some delivery they took from a courier, I assume that was you. They also said that they are on their way to Novac to meet a contact there."

"A contact?" Six asked with very curious eyes.

"That's what they said. If you want to follow them I strongly suggest that you follow the road through Nipton."

"While I was up in Sloan, there was a man who told me about Primm Pass that cut through the mountain. What about that?" Beagles eyes darkened at the sound of that name.

"No. No no no. I wouldn't take that pass. Lately, anyone who's tried to go in hasn't come out. Well except one, although he did died a day later. Said there was some deathclaw that attached him. He mentioned it moved differently from any other he'd seen and made a weird squelching noise he never heard before."

"A Deathclaw?" A shiver ran down Six's back when he heard that. If there's one thing he knew, there was no way he was going to get near one of those things, ever.

"Yes sir. Spawn of the devil they are. So that's about what I know. Head south, then east towards Nipton, then north after that. Novac will be just up the road."

"Nipton... Then Novac" Six inputted the directions on his pipboy. "Alright, I'll let the others know. Thanks for the directions Beagle." He said as he headed out the door again.

"Take it easy now you hear." He could hear Beagle say on his way out. Next stop was the Mojave Express building to take a second look at the robot Johnson said he could tinker with. Once he was back on the street, Six took a quick look around to see if the coast was clear. He hobbled along, stopping at every point of cover to make sure nobody spotted him. Especially Delilah. Once inside, he set eyes on the broken robot that still laid on the counter. A big smile streaked across his face as he got to work. **  
**

Opening up the panel, Six immediately spotted the first problem. The Sensor modules seemed to be clogged up with oxidation. Using the tools at a nearby workbench, he carefully cleaned the residue off the electronic components. Sweat dripped down his brow as his concentration took over. One of the modules had been corroded beyond repair, but luckily, he salvaged one out of a spare parts drawer. The rest was easy. After replacing wires that were too brittle and re-soldering the necessary components, he was finished. He took a deep breath and flipped the power switch.

For the first few seconds nothing happened. Then suddenly it's repulsor engines roared to life. It tooka couple seconds to reconfigure it's balance, afterwards, the engines quieted to a low hum. It made various beeping and short buzzing noises as it ran through it's diagnostics. After a few seconds the beeping stopped, as it awaited his command. Six cleared his throat as he remembered some command functions to say. Probably from a Prewar manual he read in his journeys.

"Uh, 'Companion Protocol; Begin'." Six said slow and clearly. The flying robot made a higher pitched beep that he understood as accepting the command. A big smile streaked across his face once more. "My very own Eyebot! This'll definitely come in handy."

What'll come in handy?" a female voice said behind him that nearly made Six jump out of his skin. He whirled around to see Vanessa standing in the doorway.

"Geeze V! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"That would be ironic." She uttered, nearly under her breath.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Uh... " She paused, as if she spoke out of turn. "Nothing! So uh, you actually got that hunk of scrap working again?" Six looked back at the eyebot proudly.

"Sure did! What do you think of it?"

"I think it's a... 'floating' hunk of scrap now?"

"And an 'Honor Student' at Roosevelt High School!" Six said as he pointed to a bumper sticker that was stuck on it's right side. Vanessa rolled her eyes at him, then let out a small snicker. Upon looking on the left side, Six saw that it had an Illinois license plate with the id 2ED-E59. Most of which was rusted over except for the letters ED-E. "Well... Not the first name I would have picked but alright, Ede it is." Ede beeped with excitement.

"Is that thing going to do that the whole way?" Vanessa asked, not really wanting to know the answer to that.

* * *

The rest of the day ran quickly. The group had stocked up on provisions they would need till they can restock at Nipton. Waking up refreshed early the next morning, they said their goodbys to the people of Primm, and set out on the old I-15 road again, heading south to follow the trail of the man in the checkered suit. Indeed, their journey was far from over.

* * *

 **Authors Notes:**

 **Pipboy 3000A: Our couriers Pipboy 3000A is a theoretical model based off the standard Pipboy 3000 from Fallout 3. The difference being a lack of a Biometric seal which was completely ignored in New Vegas. That would explain Doc Mitchell, and Mick being able to remove or attach the pipboy without having to lop an arm off first. Also a side note, the lack of a glove is possible in the vanilla game. It's more of a glitch than anything.**

 **Headphones: The headphones that the group use are actually included in the Niner companion mod.**

 **Not Government issue: The troopers at Primm are actually armed with varmint rifles in the vanilla game. It makes little sense but once I thought about it, it would be likely that all the better quality arms would have gone straight to the front line troops. Also would explain the usual hunting rifles at Camp McCarren.**

 **Chavez at large: Scrambler makes a mention about Chavez leaving right before the NCR attack. In the game you take out Chavez first before dealing with the merchant. Figured the other way would flow better.**

 **Catcher in the Rye: The book Catcher in The Rye** **is part of Delilah's mod and** **can be found in cell block A (I believe).**

 **NCR Field Cap: The NCR 'Technician' cap is a mod I myself made a while ago. Thought I'd give it a cameo here. Try it out below. Comments are appreciated and endorsements are loved. B)**

 **newvegas/mods/61093/?**

 **Army trucks: It is said that the NCR Logistics Corp based in Camp McCarren have several workable pre-war army trucks that they utilize, although there are no moving vehicles in the vanilla game... Like, at all. So there is written evidence that they do have some. At least now we know the NCR didn't walk from California to Nevada.**

 **So here it is, Chapter 7. Ending's a bit rushed but i'm long overdue for this chapter and I needed to get this out the door. So anyway, hope it's good. As always; comment like, subscribe, and i'll see you next chapter!**


	7. Update

Hey everyone. so to update, I can't get to a computer with internet anytime soon and am confined to a phone keyboard which make typing and proofreading a pain. The next chapter's almost done but will be hard to get out the door in this state but wanted to let you all know I'm still going on it. Thanks for your support!

-Farazzak


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